PORT ANGELES — Tina Hendrickson, who has filed a sexual harassment claim against her former supervisor and longtime friend, Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols, has challenged a key part of Nichols’ defense against her claim.

Hendrickson says she did not say what Seattle workplace investigator and consultant Robin Nielsen says she said in a report by Nielsen that absolved Nichols of sexual harassment, as defined by county policy.

County policy defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature.”

According to the policy, it occurs when the conduct is made as a term of employment, when it’s used as the basis of employment decisions and when it unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or when it creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

Seattle employment lawyer Suzanne Kelly Michael, representing Nichols, said Friday that Nielsen was hired by Bellevue employment lawyer Jillian Barron, who was hired by Clallam County.

In her May 22 report Nielsen concluded that Nichols likely “made overtures of romantic interest to Ms. Hendrickson for a period of several months in 2015.”

Nielsen determined Nichols “occasionally made indirect actions thereafter that Ms. Hendrickson could reasonably interpret as suggesting a continued romantic interest, and that some of Mr. Nichols’ attention was likely unwelcome to Ms. Hendrickson, but that Mr. Nichols did not create an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment for Ms. Hendrickson.”

Nielsen also concluded that Nichols “did not make submission to any of his romantic advances a condition of Ms. Hendrickson’s employment, nor did he use Ms. Hendrickson’s submission to or rejection of any of his romantic advances a basis for any decisions affecting her employment.”

Federal Western District Court Judge Benjamin Settle, who rejected Nichols summary-judgment motion to throw out the case Thursday, cited aspects of Nielsen’s report that Hendrickson’s lawyer, Terry Venneberg of Gig Harbor, focused on for his client’s Sept. 21 response to the motion.

Venneberg said Nielsen’s report contained inaccuracies, citing Hendrickson’s sworn depositions.

Venneberg said that contrary to Nielsen’s report, Hendrickson did not express a “strong desire” to continue working with Nichols.

While Nielsen said Hendrickson wanted to continue working with Nichols, Hendrickson claims she told Nielsen that she wanted to continue in her position, not work with Nichols, Settle said in his ruling.

Nielsen also said Hendrickson told Nielsen that Nichols stopped his romantic overtures after the summer of 2015.

Hendrickson said she told Nielsen that Nichols did not limit the time of his “direct romantic overtures” to mid-March 2015 to summer 2015, but continued them until Nielsen’s investigation, Venneberg said.

According to Sill’s deposition, she told Sill the harassment was “progressively getting worse,” according to the deposition, Venneberg said.

Nielsen said in her report that Hendrickson did not “explicitly reject Nichols’ initial overture, but Hendrickson states the report is incorrect, and she was very clear with Nichols that she was not interested,” Settle said.

Hendrickson also said she found Nichols’ expression of romantic interest “offensive” and was “disgusted” by it, Venneberg said.

“Hendrickson told Nielsen that she made clear to Nichols ‘over and over again’ she was not interested in a romantic relationship with him, and made clear to him that she was rejecting those overtures from him,” Venneberg said.

“Hendrickson explained in her deposition that in her first meeting with Nielsen, Nielsen asked her how much money she wanted, and Hendrickson responded that she wanted her job,” Settle said in his ruling.

Michael said Hendrickson changed her account of the events, making up what happened between Hendrickson and Nichols.

“Now we have changing stories by the plaintiff,” Michael said.

“We think the jury will come to the same conclusion.”

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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.