United States District Judge Malachy Mannion has ruled a confidentiality agreement submitted and signed by the attorneys for the plaintiffs and attorneys for the defendants in the George Halcovage Jr. lawsuit as “presently submitted is unacceptable.”

The order was made after a conference call Tuesday in Middle District Court involving attorneys for both sides.

Entered Sept. 15, the agreement lays out definitions, who can and cannot received information from the proceedings, and what is to be done with the information afterward, among other things.

In part, one section says the following.

“All classified information produced or exchanged in the course of this litigation shall be used solely for the purpose of preparing for and conducting the litigation and for no other purpose whatsoever and shall not be disclosed to any person except in accordance with the terms of this confidentially stipulation. There shall be no reproduction of discovery materials except for the purposes permitted.”

A joint case management plan filed Sept. 23 outlines the allegations, responses and provides timelines for the progress of the case. Not all dates are completed.

Discovery is proposed to be completed by March 4, 2022. The case may be appropriate for trial 500 days from the filing. A suggested date for the final pretrial conference is August 2022. A possible trial date is September 2022, documents show.

The case management conference was necessitated by mediation being unsuccessful.

Halcovage, who has been a commissioner since 2012, has been sued in federal court by four women, all Schuylkill County employees, who have accused him of sexual harassment. Their names are not in the lawsuit, but they are identified as Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3 and Jane Doe 4.

Other defendants are also named in the suit.

Numerous county and state leaders have called for Halcovage to resign.

The county’s solicitor office and human resources investigated and determined that Halcovage violated three county policies, sexual harassment, conduct and discipline, and physical and verbal abuse.

The investigation determined that if Halcovage was an employee he would be suspended and recommended he be terminated.

The House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a resolution in June calling for an investigation into Halcovage. The vote was 25-0.

The resolution calls for the start of an investigation as to “whether an impeachment or removal from office is required due to alleged misbehavior in office and violation of public trust.”

State Reps. Jerry Knowles, R-Schuylkill/Berks/Carbon; Joe Kerwin, R-Dauphin-Schuylkill; and Tim Twardzik, R-Schuylkill, introduced H.R. 99 in May.