Dirt churns at Sawdust

The sawdust is flying at the Sawdust Festival over the ouster of longtime exhibitor and former board member Jim Steins.

The show will begin June 29 — minus 18-year exhibitor Steins.

Steins was ejected from the show — and lost his membership — after a young employee of the organization accused him of sexual harassment during last summer’s festival.

Steins filed a lawsuit May 1 against Sawdust committee member James Stanaland, whom he blames for not overturning the Sawdust board’s decision to eject him, demanding $750,000 in compensation and reinstatement in the show with seniority to guarantee a good booth spot.

On June 4, Steins filed an amended complaint against the Sawdust Festival Corp. and former Sawdust board presidents Sian Poeschl and Marsh Scott, in addition to Stanaland, accusing them of defamation of character, libel and conspiracy, among other allegations.

Steins’ amended complaint seeks damages in excess of $1.6 million.

Poeschl is also the cultural arts manager for the city of Laguna Beach.

‘Improper conduct’

Board members say they had no choice but to sever a relationship with the photographer — who sells autographed pictures he takes at horse and auto races — after a complaint was filed alleging that Steins took compromising photographs of a teenage girl employee.

Steins admits taking the photos — and deleting them at the girl’s request — but doesn’t understand how the Sawdust board could eject him over the incident.

“The board of directors was faced with the need to make a difficult decision as a result of a corroborated complaint from a teenage female employee of inappropriate conduct by Mr. Steins,” Sawdust spokeswoman Rebecca Meekma said in a written statement.

“The board unanimously made the decision to terminate the membership of Mr. Steins because it felt that it was in the best interests of the corporation,” Meekma added.

‘Minor’ incident

Steins and his supporters accuse the board of overreacting to a minor altercation between Steins and the 16-year-old.

Steins accuses Sawdust members of spreading vicious rumors about him and calling him names.

Steins’ lawsuit claims the board violated its own bylaws, state law governing nonprofit corporations, and failed to conduct an adequate investigation of the allegation before issuing a decision on Sept. 18 to permanently expel him from the show.

Steins, a former board member, says he has criticized the board’s policies of raising booth fees and ticket prices, which has angered board members.

He also thinks some Sawdust members have wanted him out of the show for more than a decade, ever since his display of underwater nude photographs generated complaints from some exhibitors in 1991.

Steins’ amended complaint alleges that the actions of Sawdust officials have damaged his ability to conduct business in Laguna Beach.

Employee photographed

Steins believes the board of directors acted hastily in a rush to judgment against him after the unnamed festival employee lodged a sexual harassment complaint against him on Aug. 22.

The incident involved Steins’ taking photographs of the young woman in a demonstration booth where both were working while the show was open to the public.

The pictures apparently depicted the fully-clothed employee in an unflattering posture, and she had asked Steins to delete them. He did, but admits he had intended to show them to her supervisor to prove his claim that she was “goofing off” on the job while he was trying to demonstrate a photographic technique to another exhibitor.

“She [the employee] threw herself on top of a counter and yelled, she was being irresponsible, chatting with her friends, fooling around and distracting from the demonstration,” Steins alleged. He claimed that he had complained to the girl about her behavior the week before, but had not brought the complaint to the attention of her supervisor.

During the incident, Steins claims the girl threatened to deface one of his model cars unless he deleted the photos.

“I apologized for taking the pictures and asked her, ‘Are we OK?’

“But she was still angry. I could tell that something would happen,” Steins said.

The next day, Steins received a formal letter placing him on probation as a result of a formal complaint of sexual harassment.

Steins says he has still not seen the complaint, despite his repeated requests.

‘Railroaded’

Longtime exhibitor Eleanor Henry, who was on the board at the time and did see the sexual harassment complaint, said it “did not look serious” to her.

“This was not harassment,” Henry said. “It was teasing, and she [the girl] was embarrassed. It has gotten blown out of proportion.”

Henry said she voted along with the board for probation, but was shocked when the new board — of which she was no longer a member — moved ahead with expulsion.

“He was railroaded,” Henry said. “I know when someone’s gotten the shaft. The board dragged it [the process] out to keep him from applying to the show. People think it’s terrible. He should be in the show.”

Employee safety issue

Scott, who was president of the Sawdust board at the time the sexual harassment complaint was lodged, defends the board’s actions.

“Everything was done with review by a lawyer, the whole board acted under the advice of a lawyer, and everything was done properly,” Scott said. “There was not a lack of due process. The Sawdust has a lot of young employees, and we feel their safety is really important.

“As a corporation, our employees are of more concern; the artists are independent, and they have no guarantee of income,” she added.

The confidential complaint was lodged on August 22. The same day, the board informed Steins in writing that an investigation would be conducted on the incident, and the board issued an order forbidding Steins from bringing photographic equipment onto festival grounds.

He was also barred from “interacting with female employees in any circumstances other than ordering food at a food booth or in an emergency where their assistance is essential to prevent personal injury or property damage.”

24 hours to respond

The next day, August 23, Steins was placed on formal probation as an exhibitor and member and told he would have 24 hours to submit a written response to the complaint.

He was also warned that further action, including expulsion, could be forthcoming.

Steins says he did not respond at that time with his version of the incident because Sawdust officials did not provide him with a copy of the complaint.

Steins instead demanded all the documents from his 18 years of association with the Sawdust, a request the board denied as too cumbersome.

A few days later, a security guard was stationed at the entrance to a Sawdust membership meeting and Steins was ordered to stay out.

‘Immediate action’ needed

Scott claimed the board was forced to take immediate action to address the situation.

“Under state law, we have to take action within 24 hours of a sexual harassment complaint,” she claimed. “An employer can’t ignore a written complain. The Sawdust was her employer, and we felt it [the incident] was serious enough to take immediate action.”

However, Scott’s assertion is discounted by the Sawdust’s own attorney, Michael Dawe.

Dawe said that there is no state law that would apply to such a case, and that the state Fair Employment and Housing code — which does require employers to respond to sexual harassment complaints within a “reasonable” time frame — would not apply in this case because the allegation did not involve two employees.

Expelled for ‘violations’

On Sept. 18, Steins was informed of the unanimous decision by the board to permanently expel him from the festival for violating festival rule No. 6 and show rule No. 4.15.

Rule No. 6 requires exhibitors to maintain “civil decorum and demeanor” while on the festival grounds.

Rule No. 4.15 states that “inappropriate behavior of any exhibitor toward any Sawdust Festival employee may result in a fine, suspension or expulsion of the exhibitor.”

Steins says he was never informed of a hearing on the matter that he could attend, despite a state law governing nonprofit corporations that requires a 15-day notice of a hearing on an expulsion of membership.

Board ‘made up rules’

Henry says she and other exhibitors are furious about how Steins was treated.

At a February special board meeting on the matter, Henry — then no longer on the board — tore up the bylaws in front of a cheering crowd.

“[The board] abrogated the bylaws,” Henry alleged. “They made up their own rules.”

Henry said that, although she had voted to place Steins on probation in August, she was shocked when the board moved ahead with expulsion after she was off the board.

Henry noted that, a few years before, the board had punished two exhibitors who had come to blows with each other by placing them on probation and prohibiting them from speaking to each other.

One of those artists spoke up in Steins’ defense at a meeting.

Employee ‘disruptive’ to show

Jennie Riker, an exhibitor during the summer show, said she was nearby when the alleged sexual harassment incident took place and defended Steins’ actions. Riker claimed the employee was being disruptive and should have been disciplined.

Riker added that artists who disagreed with the board’s actions were afraid to step forward for fear of repercussions.

At the August board meeting, Riker nominated Steins to the board, even though he had not been permitted entry to the meeting.

“I did it more as a protest,” she said.

More artists stepped forward Feb. 28, when the Sawdust board held a special hearing on Steins’ removal.

‘It could be you.’

Despite the outpouring of support, the board decision was upheld in April at a meeting of the Sawdust grievance committee, at which Dawe was present. The grievance committee is empowered to overturn board decisions.

After hearing from Steins and about half a dozen of his supporters, the committee, chaired by Stanaland, affirmed the board’s decision to oust Steins.

‘Sawdust churns’

Steins says that because the committee had heard no evidence at the public portion of the meeting to support the ouster, his conclusion is that the committee had already made up its mind.

Henry says she has a saying, “Sawdust churns,” meaning that the festival can be a breeding-ground for gossip and innuendo, which can have serious effects on exhibitors.

“People cheered when I tore up the bylaws,” Henry said. “It could be you.”

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Should former Sawdust Art Festival exhibitor and board member Jim Steins be permitted to return to the show following his expulsion? Write us at P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, CA, 92652, e-mail us at coastlinepilot@latimes.com or fax us at 494-8979. Please give your name and tell us your home address and phone number for verification purposes only.