Mercer County paid a total of $57,500 to four women who claimed they were sexually harassed last year by two "management-level" county employees, an attorney for three of the women said Friday.

Mercer County Chairman Commissioner Cloyd E. "Gene" Brenneman would not confirm the out-of-court deal or comment on the matter Friday evening.

Mercer lawyer Jack W. Cline said all of the women were county employees when the alleged harassment occurred between January and September 2001.

One of the women still works for the county.

The other three quit their courthouse jobs, Cline said, "in part, because of the hostile work environment that existed."

Cline identified the women as Mercer County Law Librarian Kim Deniker; Onalee Godfrey, former administrative assistant to former commissioner Brian W. Shipley; former Management Information Systems Director Suzanne Hockenberry; and former Grant and Allocations Director Roberta Leonard, assistant to former Fiscal Director Jeff Swartzbeck.

Cline said all of the women planned to sue the county in federal court "if the matter was not resolved amicably by the Mercer County Board of Commissioners."

Cline would not describe the alleged harassment, but said "it was enough that the county felt they had to pay that amount of damages."

Cline described the award as "substantial."

Cline said all four women were harassed by one of the "management-level" employees and one of the women was harassed by the other employee.

Cline said he issued the press release to clear the air about his clients. "My clients have gone through some tough times over there," Cline said.

The names of two of the women -- Ms. Leonard and Ms. Godfrey -- came up during investigations into Shipley's use of a county credit card for personal expenses and a county computer to surf adult-oriented Web sites.

Shipley resigned days after it was revealed he used a county cellular phone to make personal calls to escort services.

Cline would not say whether Shipley was one of the "management-level" county employees.

Cline refused to identify the employees who allegedly harassed the women but said they "had nothing to do with the court system."

Cline represented all of the women except Ms. Leonard, who he said was represented by attorney Richard A. Peterson, Greenville.

Cline said the county settled Jan. 23. The deal was negotiated by county solicitors Lewis McEwen and Donald McKay, he said.

The county's liability insurance carrier covered the bulk of the settlement while the county paid only for the deductible, Cline said.

Herald Copy Editor Nick Hildebrand contributed to this report.