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4 Illinoisans Named America's Worst Bosses of 2014

CHICAGO – eBossWatch published its 6th annual America's Worst Bosses list, with four Illinoisans securing spots in the top 100.

Managers on America's Worst Bosses list "were named in workplace lawsuits or were accused of workplace harassment and/or sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and/or creating a hostile work environment," reads a statement on the eBossWatch website.

Keith Washington of the Cook County Highway Department, whose accuser claims he asked her to come to his office in the afternoons while he masturbated, made the number ten spot on the list. In the complaint, states the Courthouse News Service, "Washington frequently offered to pay her for sexual favors, to pay for her to travel with him for sex, to pay for new clothes or to pay her bills if she had sex with him."

Two other Illinoisans on the list are Rockford's Jefferson High School principal Donald Rundall (43) and Highland Park lawyer Paul Weiss (44). Rundall was accused of retaliating against a teacher after she ended their romantic relationship. A settlement was reached in February and Rundall remains the school's principal.

The Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission Hearing Board recommended a thirty-month suspension for Weiss, who was accused of sexually harassing four female employees. An article published on the Chicago Law Bulletin claims that in 1997 the Illinois Supreme Court "suspended Weiss' law license for 30 days" for "making lewd and harassing phone calls to a teenage girl."

In the 93rd spot on America's Worst Bosses list is Chicago's former Fire Commissioner, John Brooks, who was accused of sexual harassment by a payroll auditor. In August of 2014, she filed a federal lawsuit against the city. "He would call my cellphone and say women wanted to feel on him and suck on him and why didn't I like him," she claims. Brooks retired abruptly in 2010.

According to eBossWatch founder Asher Adelman, a panel of workplace experts selects and ranks the worst bosses in America. "Due to the lengthy legal processes that are often involved in these types of cases, many bosses who make the news and are selected to the America's Worst Bosses list are no longer in their positions," he says.

 

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