Retaliation – The Final Steps to Termination (Part 4)

Retaliation – The Final Steps to Termination (Part 4)

In the first week of April 2014, HomeFirst CEO Jenny prepared a “CFO Transition Plan” for the Executive Committee.  I was a loose cannon, she said, who was willing to go above her and the Board to report compliance risks.  She was sure I would a file complaint whenever I disagreed with her decision or the pace at which things were moving.  I could affect the coming audit, she warned.   My eventual termination was inevitable, she said, and anyway the attorney believed that the law should not hamper a company conducting its business as it saw fit.

Two weeks later, I told her that I believed her plan to move responsibilities away from me was retaliatory and, by the way, I no longer had plans to retire.  She forwarded the email to her team members on the Board and said that she would contact the attorney.  Over the next few days I received emails from Jenny, the Chair, and the Treasurer, all describing their commitment to good governance and full compliance with laws and contracts. 

My claim that the organizational changes were retaliation would not stand, the attorney assured them, since my title and salary were unchanged.  He thought that my deciding against retirement made negotiation of a severance agreement impractical.  Everyone now agreed that a lawsuit would follow my termination.

The May Finance Committee meeting turned up the heat: I said that the still unresolved master lease violation (3^rd Issue) could be a problem in the audit; my updated cash forecast showed an 18% chance we would not make payroll in October.  The meeting ended, and I left while Jenny and the Committee members remained talking.

On Sunday May 25, I complained to the Audit chair that Jenny was violating our whistleblower policy – criticizing my visit to the shelter (8^th Issue) and inaction on the two new issues.  I described the minimum wage problem (10^th Issue) and let him know that I had reported the payroll tax finding (9^th Issue).  Jenny’s actions, I said, were threatening our financial viability.  On the evening of the 27^th, he replied saying the minimum wage and payroll tax problems would be addressed.  He was concerned, though, that I had violated an agreement he was sure we had about bringing complaints to him before reporting them externally.

On Wednesday May 28, Jenny gave me a written reprimand for being unprepared to discuss compliance updates at the Finance Committee meeting and for visiting the shelter unannounced.  This steady stream of compliance complaints was simply unacceptable, she said.  I got upset.  I called her a piece of work.  I called her a liar, twice.  Jenny sent a copy of the reprimand and information about the payroll tax and minimum wage problems to the Chair, Treasurer, and Audit chair so they could be forwarded to the attorney.  She would wait for their okay to pull the trigger. 

Because the decision had essentially been made in March, they were ready to act quickly.  My comments about the audit, my confirmation that an earlier violation still had not been corrected, my identification of two new and potentially significant violations, and my reporting them externally confirmed their fear that I was prepared to sabotage the company.

On Friday, Jenny told the attorney that they were ready to move on terminating me and asked him to draft the termination letter.  She checked again with the broker on insurance coverage and confirmed the availability of two the replacement candidates.  Monday night, I read the separation letter and Jenny’s draft announcement that I was no longer working at HomeFirst. 

On Tuesday morning, I met with Jenny and the Treasurer.  After a few minutes of awkward pleasantries, Jenny slid the separation letter across the table toward me.  Termination was immediate; no severance; and no giving up my right to sue.  She did not ask me to confirm that I had surrendered all HomeFirst property, so I did not have to debate my possession of copies of her emails.  She said there was no purpose in discussing the reasons for termination.  I pressed; she said it was for “performance and inability to relate to staff.”  What did she mean by “performance” and “inability to relate to staff;” she chose not to discuss it. 

Was all right to say goodbye to my staff, I asked.  Then with Jenny at my shoulder, I shook hands with each member of the small office staff, thanked them, and said it was a pleasure working with them.  Some knew about the termination beforehand, but others were surprised and had trouble understanding what was going on.

Shortly after Jenny was hired five years earlier, she gave me a small metal plaque with a picture of cowboy John Wayne and a quote, “A Man’s Gotta Do What a Man’s Gotta Do.”  When I gathered my personal belongings, as Jenny stood in the doorway to my office, I left the plaque in its place on the wall.