Earlier this year, three women in Kennewick, Washington, filed tort claims against the Benton-Franklin Health District for failing to prevent workplace sexual harassment and retaliation brought upon them by the former administrator, Jason Zaccaria. Now, the women are moving forward with a lawsuit to seek justice for those failures, while also alleging leaders within the health district were aware of Zaccaria’s history of sexual misconduct in the workplace but skirted standard procedures to hire and supervise him anyway.

The lawsuit, filed in Washington State Superior Court in Walla Walla, is led by attorney Elizabeth Hanley of the Seattle law firm Schroeter Goldmark & Bender (SGB). The plaintiffs include Lisa Wight, former senior manager of human resources at the Health District; Bonnie Hall, who served as the district’s contracts and billing manager; and Angee Chavez, who held the position of human resources and payroll coordinator at the Health District.

According to the women’s claims filed earlier this year, after Zaccaria was hired by the Benton-Franklin Health District Board of Health in 2011, for over a decade, he sexually harassed the women and other female employees. Court documents show he also discriminated against them, subjecting them to differing employment terms and conditions and unfairly passing them over for promotions. The plaintiffs even had concerns that Zaccaria had bugged their offices, according to the claims, as he knew personal information they hadn’t shared with him.

In 2023, Kennewick Police discovered extensive pornography, videos of minors and footage of staff that Zaccaria had apparently secretly recorded on electronic devices located in his office. The plaintiffs were notified of the footage and confirmed they had not known or consented to being recorded.

On October 22, 2024, the women filed a lawsuit claiming that the Benton-Frankling Health District, the Benton-Franklin Health District Board of Health, Benton County and Franklin County had been warned when hiring Zaccaria that he had a history of workplace sexual misconduct. Despite this, the board hired him to fill the health district’s highest-level position and failed to supervise him to prevent harm to the plaintiffs.

“It was clear that, from the very beginning, those in power at the Benton-Franklin Health District knew Zaccaria had a history of abuse in the workplace and could have stopped it,” said one of the plaintiffs, Lisa Wight. “Instead, they made an informed, intentional decision to ignore the warnings they received about his sexual misconduct, discrimination and retaliation in the workplace and hired him for a top position of power.”

“Not only did the district ignore the warnings, but they also failed to properly supervise Zaccaria and ensure he wouldn’t abuse his power – which he did,” said Bonnie Hall, another plaintiff.

The plaintiffs’ complaint outlines that when the Benton-Franklin Health District was looking for an administrator in 2010, they had a fully functioning human resources department to recruit a candidate. But the defendants chose to bypass the HR department and gave all hiring power to then-Franklin County Commissioners Rick Miller, Brad Peck and Robert Koch, who ultimately hired Zaccaria. At least two individuals warned these three that Zaccaria engaged in sexual misconduct with a female subordinate at his previous workplace.

The suit also alleges that, in addition to Zaccaria’s longstanding history of sexual misconduct, the board was made aware of his retaliatory termination of employees who challenged him, as well as his habit of hiring and promoting unqualified individuals who would help cover up his harassment and retaliate against employees. He also imposed a strict chain of command, forbidding the plaintiffs from communicating with the board without him.

A week after the Benton-Franklin Health District put Zaccaria on administrative leave in 2023, the defendants permitted Zaccaria to resign rather than fire him – even after they had clear notice of Zaccaria’s potentially unlawful and sexually motivated acts.

Plaintiff Angee Chavez added, “We were victimized for years, and have yet to receive any form of justice for what we were subjected to. We’re filing this suit to hold the Benton-Franklin Health District, Benton County and Franklin County accountable for their complete disregard for their employees and their intentional hand in permitting Zaccaria’s abuse.”

“Zaccaria began a campaign of more than a decade of sexual harassment, generalized gender discrimination and retaliation against these women, who collectively gave 76 years of service to the Health District,” said Elizabeth Hanley of SGB, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. “The Benton-Franklin Health District failed at every step to prevent abuse, hold Zaccaria accountable, or create a safe environment for female employees. By filing this claim, we’re sending a message to employers everywhere that they will be held liable for institutional failures, and to prevent future harm for employees in similar situations.”