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In October, Erious Johnson, Jr., then the Oregon Department of Justice's head civil rights attorney, agreed to accept a $205,000 settlement in exchange for leaving his position.
It was an unusual settlement in that Johnson had never been accused of doing anything wrong. In fact, he was the victim in a bizarre episode that roiled DOJ more than two years ago.
In 2015, James Williams, a DOJ investigator, was testing out "Digital Stakeout," an online surveillance tool. He ran a check on the term "Black Lives Matter," and stumbled upon Johnson's Twitter feed, which had some references to that social justice movement and also some artwork from albums of the band Public Enemy that could be misinterpreted as being threatening to police.
At the request of his superiors, Williams prepared a memo on his findings. That memo looked a lot like surveillance of a person for purely political reasons, which is illegal. DOJ launched an independent investigation, which ultimately led to Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum firing Williams (a decision later overturned by an arbitrator) and Johnson feeling that he'd been targeted improperly.
When Johnson settled his lawsuit, here's what the separation agreement said about future state employment:
"Plaintiff shall not seek any employment with any state agency of the state of Oregon, with the exception of elected positions, for a period of five years following the effective date of this agreement."
That language often shows up in settlement agreements to stop former employees from, in effect, double-dipping.
On Wednesday, WW reported that Johnson has a new gig, serving as policy advisor to state Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Happy Valley). Some readers questioned whether that violated the terms of his settlement agreement.
Johnson's former boss, Rosenblum, says it does not.
"This appointment as a legislative staffer by an elected official, Representative Bynum, is an important position in state government," Rosenblum tells WW. "She will be well served by Mr. Johnson, who brings intelligence, thoughtfulness, and a unique background and understanding of civil rights and the diverse communities in our state to the table. I am satisfied the agreement that was reached with Erious was not intended to prevent this type of state employment. And if it was so intended, it shouldn't have been."
(Disclosure: Rosenblum is married to Richard Meeker, the co-owner of WW's parent company.)