WOODWAY — The City of Woodway sent out a press release Tuesday morning to correct what the city called "misinformation that has apparently been put out about Yost Zakhary's resignation from employment with the City of Woodway."
The City Council voted unanimously Monday to accept Zakhary's resignation amid allegations of sexual harrassment and a lawsuit filed by a city employee.
Despite some media reports that the city would have to pay Zakhary for the remaining term of his contract, City Attorney, Michael W. Dixon, said that is not true.
"The City does NOT owe and will not be paying Mr. Zakhary for the remaining term of his contract," the statement from Dixon read. "Mr. Zakhary resigned, and the City has no obligation to pay the remaining years under his contract. What Mr. Zakhary will be entitled to be paid is any accrued vacation and holiday leave--which any City employee is entitled to on separation"
The lawsuit, filed by an employee in the Woodway Public Safety Department, accuses Zakhary of sexual harassment, assault, infliction of emotional distress and claims the city should be held liable for his alleged misconduct. The accusations stem from incidents that allegedly happened in 2017 while Zakhary was also the city's public safety director, a position from which he recently resigned.
The statement sent by Dixon Tuesday also included that "no agreement was entered into with Mr. Zakhary for the submission of his resignation."
The statement also clarified why the City did not fire Zakhary and instead allowed him to resign.
Finally, without creating liability to itself and handing an employee a reason to sue, a city cannot simply fire a public employee who is employed under a contract without providing procedural due process, which requires notice of the charges, notice of the evidence, a hearing, and a meaningful period to prepare to defend against the charges at a hearing. If the City Council would have terminated Mr. Zakhary’s contract without going through this process, it WOULD have likely been liable for the rest of his contract.
The attorneys representing the woman behind the lawsuit said the case was filed to protect both her and other women.
"We intend to hold Mr. Zakhary, and any City of Woodway public official enabling or protecting him, accountable for Zakhary's sexual misconduct and to vigorously protect the rights of [redacted name] and all the other female public servants who are or have been victims of sexual harassment or assault while employed by the City of Woodway," the law firm of Johnson Hobbs Squires said in a statement.
Zakhary had been employed by the City of Woodway in different roles for more than three decades.