David Ridley
Former Chattanooga General Services Director Paul PageTwo local officials made at least one naughty list this year.
The website eBossWatch.com listed former Chattanooga General Services Director Paul Page and former Murray County Commissioner David Ridley among the 100 worst bosses in America.
The two men left their positions this year after facing sexual harassment claims.
Neither Page, who ranked 20th on the list, nor Ridley, who was 56th, could be reached for comment Tuesday.
The list, released on Tuesday, includes former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky; the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the head of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition; former presidential candidate Herman Cain; and former Nevada Sen. John Ensign.
In an email, eBossWatch founder Asher Adelman said a panel of workplace experts ranks the worst bosses according to the severity of the boss' actions, the negative impact on their employees and the extent of damages they have inflicted on their organizations' work environment, reputation and finances.
"We continue to be shocked and outraged by the egregious harassment and discrimination that happens in far too many American workplaces," Adelman said in a news release.
Many of the 100 people on the list had sexual harassment claims leveled against them. The release said that, to date, they have cost their employers more than $145 million in monetary damages and lawsuit settlement payments.
Page retired in October amid intense public scrutiny of two sexual harassment claims. Both incidents occurred just months apart in 2008 and involved different women, according to newspaper archives.
Page became director of general services in 2005 after Mayor Ron Littlefield was elected to office. Page is eligible for $11,549 a year in retirement funds since his retirement.
Ridley resigned in March citing personal reasons, but an EEOC complaint by a veteran county employee surfaced weeks after his resignation.
The employee later sued Ridley and Murray County, a federal lawsuit that was settled out of court in November for an undisclosed amount.