The former chief financial officer of New York’s Museum of Arts and Design (Mad) is suing the museum, alleging that she was fired after reporting alleged misconduct by the museum’s director. The lawsuit accuses the museum of retaliation and failure to comply with the whistleblower policy.
According to the lawsuit filed by Denise Lewis, who worked at the museum from 2017 until she was fired in January of this year, museum director Timothy Rodgers wanted to use the organization’s funds to pay for personal expenses while on vacation in Mexico last October. After raising the issue with other museum leaders and board members, the lawsuit alleges, Rodgers pressured Lewis to resign and, when he refused, fired him. The case was filed on March 22 and it was reported first Artnews.
The expenses in question relate to a vacation Rodgers and her husband took in the fall of 2023, following a trip to Mexico by museum members. In addition to charging the museum’s American Express card for the $600 rug, Rodgers reportedly demanded reimbursement for vacation expenses he paid on his personal credit card, including hotel expenses. After initially refusing to reimburse the expenses through the museum controller, “Rodgers submitted the same expenses again. Lewis told his aide that the expenses were inappropriate. Rodgers’ assistants were legitimate, he said, but the expenses were for dates after the museum-sponsored trip.’
The lawsuit alleges that the disagreement over vacation expenses was part of a pattern that required Rodgers to reimburse her for moving expenses related to her second home in Connecticut. Having paid for the museum’s relocation from Arizona to Manhattan, he previously served as director and CEO of the Phoenix Art Museum before being hired in 2021. The lawsuit also alleges that the museum agreed to pay all expenses. Related to Rodgers’ husband’s health coverage, even though she doesn’t do any other work. Last fall, “Lewis raised concerns [the museum’s] the director of human resources that this different treatment was discriminatory”, according to the lawsuit.
Lewis’ lawsuit alleges that the museum failed to have and implement an adequate whistleblower policy, as required by New York law for a nonprofit organization of its size. She also claims that the museum retaliated against her after her dismissal, as other employees experienced, and did not provide her with copies of her certificates for Continuing Professional Education classes, which are essential to maintaining her License Certificate. Public accountant.
Lewis is seeking damages, including “all profits he would have received.” [the museum’s] revenge treatment”. Rodgers is not a party to the suit.
Lewis’ attorney, Anne L. Clark, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement, a spokesman for the museum said: “These allegations are false. We look forward to taking our case to court.”
Rodgers, who has been Mad’s director since September 2021, arrived at the museum after a long season of high billing. From 2013 to 2021, the museum had 11 different leaders, six of whom were interim directors. At the time of the appointment, he said The New York Times “The first thing I have to do is to gain the trust of the employees,” he added: “You have to be fair and consistent. You must be clear.’
