Former deputy prosecutor accuses Stevens County prosecutor of sexual harassment

A former Stevens County deputy prosecutor says she was subjected to workplace sexual harassment by Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen.

In a tort claim filed May 1 in Spokane Superior Court, 34-year-old Saundra Richartz, who worked at the office from July 2012 to July 2015, says Rasmussen gave preferential treatment to male employees, held females to a different dress code, and frequently commented on women’s physical appearance in derogatory terms, including on their weight and physical characteristics.

Richartz is seeking $750,000 on several allegations of harassment. The amount includes economic damages, but also seeks compensation for “severe emotional distress, anxiety, depression, emotional trauma, loss of earnings both past and future, loss of promotional opportunity both past and future” and “physical illnesses.”

The lawsuit says Richartz was fired in July after Rasmussen became upset with her for opening a distillery in Colville with friends. Days before a termination letter was left on her chair, the lawsuit states she sent an email to the prosecutor apologizing for the distillery and tardiness.

The claim says it was apparent that Rasmussen “never had any intention of treating her fairly and that this was his retaliatory termination.”

Reached by phone, Rasmussen declined to comment, instead choosing to send a written statement.

“Several factors were involved in my decision to separate Ms. Richartz from employment as one of my deputy prosecutors,” he wrote. “Primary was her habitual refusal to come to work on time. Other deputies repeatedly had to start her dockets. She did not respond to guidance from me and others on this issue.”

The lawsuit says Richartz was suffering from depression and the medication she was taking made it difficult to wake up. It says Rasmussen dismissed her condition, saying “it doesn’t matter, you need to figure it out and get to work on time.”

Richartz claims Rasmussen also made several comments on her work attire, at one point saying to another person in the office that they should “take Saundra shopping for some skirts,” according to the lawsuit.

Court documents say he also held females to a higher standard. He would allow male employees to come to work 15 to 20 minutes late without repercussions, and he “allowed an office environment to exist in which women were not valued for their contributions but for their appearance.”

Richartz’s attorney, Rod Stephens of the Stephens Law Firm in Puyallup, Washington, said the claim “exemplifies the struggles that a lot of professional women have.”

“Their work ethic and their credibility are always held to a higher standard,” he said. “They’re judged by their work peers. And when you’re in a male dominated office where men hold positions of power, it’s difficult for women.”

Stephens said Richartz wasn’t looking for “preferential treatment,” and instead wants an “equal playing field.”

“There’s a fear that women have when they speak up that they’ll be subjected to retaliation or they’ll lose their job,” he said. “My client doesn’t feel it’s right to be silent.”

When Richartz opened the distillery in 2015 in the basement of a law office, according to the lawsuit Rasumussen was furious after a story about it was written in The Spokesman-Review. When he saw her pouring drinks at the distillery for customers, he yelled at her in front of the office and told her he would fire her if he caught her doing it again, according to the suit.

Rasmussen broadly denied these claims, writing that she “never brought to my attention or anyone else’s, to my knowledge, any issue with regard to unfair treatment on account of her gender.”

He also wrote that she never requested accommodation for depression. And as for the distillery, he said she “refused to follow county policies with regard to outside business interests.”

Rasmussen is being represented by Michael McFarland of Evans, Craven & Lackie law firm in Spokane. Rasmussen said he is “certain that the truth will win out.”

Stevens County commissioners could not be reached Tuesday to elaborate on those specific policies.