8 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | NEWS
Qsaltlake.com |
Issue 326 | August, 2021
Former employees file complaint against the Utah Pride Center BY MICHAEL AARON
Five former employees of the Utah Pride Center who were terminated last year early in the COVID-19 pandemic are taking legal action against the Center, alleging illegal activity from leadership dating back as far as 2019. This is the first time these accusations have been brought forward in court. Michael Bryant, Liz Pitts, Hillary McDaniel, Bek Birkett, and Brim Wachendorf filed a complaint with the 3rd Judicial District Court of the State of Utah. The complaint states that the five were employed and receiving positive feedback regarding the quality of their work prior to being terminated. They say that from February 2019, Moolman engaged in hiring decisions that were made without job postings or any transparent interview or hiring process. No people of color or transgender persons were given an opportunity to apply, and the romantic partner of the Center’s cis-gender operations director was hired for an important position with no input from existing staff. Pitts and McDaniel say they approached Moolman about the hiring practices in March, 2019, and Moolman denied Pitts a requested pay raise eight months later, telling her she “wasn’t a team player” because of the complaint. Pitts told a newly hired human resources company about Moolman’s comment about his reasons for not giving her a raise and was told such a motive would be considered retaliation. In December 2019, Pitts said every manager at the Pride Center received a merit raise except her. At that time, according to the complaint, the Center had no performance appraisal process or system in place, and no such appraisals had occurred. The complainants also said Moolman was hiring cis-gender white males to do contract work while reducing the hours of transgender and non-binary employees. Pitts and McDaniel said that their repeated attempts to talk to the Center’s executive board or the board of directors were denied. On April 30, ten employees of the
Center were terminated as the Center was forced to close and cancel the Utah Pride Festival. The Center, however, had received a $166,100 Payroll Protection Program loan. At the time, Center leaders said the loans were so confusing that they determined to send the money back so as not to incur debt. That loan has since been forgiven by the Small Business Administration. On June 10, Bryant, McDaniel, and Birkett were terminated because of, the Pride Center stated, lack of funds. The Center applied for and received a second PPP loan in the amount of $153,845 in February of this year. Shortly after, according to the complaint, substantial raises were granted to Moolman, John Johnson, and Jonathan Faulk, all white, cis-gender men.
PRIDE CENTER RESPONSE Center leaders released a statement after the complaint was filed saying they could not respond to questions. “Due to the legal proceedings that have been initiated, the Utah Pride Center will not and cannot comment on the specific allegations in the lawsuit. Our Center will make the following points and restate the previous public positions: “1. The Board of Directors of the Utah Pride Center support and are proud of the work done by the Utah Pride Center staff and the Executive Director, Dr. Robert Moolman. They stand by the staff, the Executive Director, and the decisions that were made for the wellbeing and longevity of the Utah Pride Center and are confident that the findings of any further investigation will validate these decisions. “2. Three of the named plaintiffs in the current lawsuit filed these same claims of gender discrimination with the Utah Anti-Discrimination and Labor Division. The UALD independently investigated each of the three claims. The UALD investigator determined that the Pride Center had not discriminated against any of the three individuals on the basis of gender as they had alleged. Further, the UALD investigator found no improper
Utah Pride Center Executive Director Rob Moolman
employment actions to substantiate any of the three individual’s employment claims. The individuals chose not to appeal the investigator’s findings. 3. The Utah Pride Center commissioned an independent and thorough review by the law firm of Richards Brandt Miller Nelson of all of the processes, decision making, and actions that were taken in 2020. This review found that the Board of Directors and Executive Director did “not reveal any indications of discrimination, financial impropriety, or similar unethical conduct by UPC staff or management” The full report has been available for 8 months publicly on our website. “4. Over the last 12 months, legal letters and requests have been issued to some of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit to ‘cease and desist’ with actions harming the work and wellbeing of the Utah Pride Center, harming the employees at the Utah Pride Center, harming relationships with donors and funders, and actively working against the mission of the Center. “5. The finances and financial management of the Utah Pride Center has been audited by independent auditors at Eide Bailly LLP. The audit for FY 2018/19 has been completed and the FY 2019/20 audit will be completed in next few weeks. Eide Bailly found no evidence of financial irregularity or impropriety. The FY2018/19 audit is available on our website. “In conclusion, the Utah Pride Center, the Board of Directors, and the executive
