SAN FRANCISCO - A former California business executive and his companies will pay $1.8 million to settle a lawsuit by the state accusing him of sexually harassing a female employee. Officials announced the settlement last week with Bill McNutt and the firms Silicon Valley Growth Syndicate and International Direct Mail Consultants. The Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleged McNutt took the woman on a number of trips where he touched her under her clothes without her consent. A spokesman says McNutt and his companies consider the lawsuit “baseless.” But McNutt decided to settle to spare his family from the stress of defending the accusations.

For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, San Francisco Chronicle.