Recently, the former CEO of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport was fired and then sued the board that dismissed her, alleging that she was wrongfully discharged. Now, she herself is being sued by a former employee who worked for her in a previous position with Wayne County. Like the former CEO, this employee is claiming wrongful discharge. The man alleges that he would not make a suspicious transaction and so was unjustly fired for refusing to comply, which cost him his six-figure salary and high-ranking position as senior project manager.
The man claims that the former CEO requested that he transfer a large sum of money from the federal program to a private nonprofit organization, which was also run by the former CEO. The man requested that he bring the $175,000 transfer request before the board of directors before approving it. However, only days before he was scheduled to present the request to the board, he was suddenly fired without explanation. And while the woman received a reported $200,000 severance check when she left the economic development authority shortly afterwards, the man claims that all he got was "a box."
While the woman denies that the potentially illegal request was ever made, the man cited an e-mail that clearly showed the woman requesting a transfer of $170,000 in funds, although the details of the transfer are not present. According to the man, his statement that he was leery of the transfer and his desire to bring the request before the board were his only reasons for termination.
Source: The Detroit Free Press, "Ex-employee sues ousted Detroit airport CEO Turkia Mullin, Wayne County over his firing," Kathleen Gray and M.L. Elrick, Nov. 1, 2011
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