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April 27, 2023 - 12:30 PM
The former head of human resources at Thompson River University filed a civil suit yesterday in connection to the fallout from a $1 million misconduct investigation.
Larry Phillips was one of two executives at the university who were at the centre of a workplace misconduct investigation. He was the sole employee who lost his job in the process and who had substantiated harassment complaints against him.
Phillips, the former associate vice president of people and culture for TRU, is asking for various unspecified amounts for damages and $72,315 in unpaid compensation, according to a notice of claim filed in Vancouver's BC Supreme Court.
He was the subject of anonymous complaints from past and current employees at the university in February 2021, along with administration and finance associate vice president Matt Milovick. The anonymous complaints spurred an investigation into sexual, racial, ageist and "personal" harassment that spanned months.
The heavily-redacted results of that investigation were released earlier this year, which found 10 of 33 complaints were substantiated and only against Phillips.
Although neither of the men were identified in the report, Milovick later issued a statement to say he was "fully exonerated" in the investigation, leaving Phillips as the sole person at fault.
Phillips claims TRU president Brett Fairbairn and the university itself should have done more to "quell the rumours" that circulated on campus. He claims they didn't take action against the anonymous whistleblowers that revealed information to the media about their complaints.
He continues takes issue with former employees who had non-disclosure agreements that spoke publicly about the complaints.
"Because of his obligation of confidentiality and his desire to respect the investigation process, which had been put in place, Phillips could not and did not respond to the allegations in the media or defend himself," court documents read.
Phillips claims Fairbairn wrongly suggested he was fired for "performance issues," and that it was actually because of the ongoing investigation and Phillips' attempts to have Fairbairn address the ongoing media coverage and rumours about the harassment complaints.
On Dec. 14, 2021, Phillips spoke with Fairbairn over the phone to explain his concerns with how the university had addressed the anonymous complaints publicly. He asked Fairbairn to "take action." Fairbairn declined and said it "would just make people more upset," according to court documents.
Phillips was fired two days later without prior discussion with other executives at the university, according to his claim.
The court documents provide more details about the substantiated claims against Phillips. He defends his actions while summarizing the 10 complaints.
One of them claims said Phillips commented that an Indigenous employee takes too much time off for funerals. He denies ever making the comment and says the employee did not take any time off for funerals. His claim said it was "substantiated" as racial discrimination.
In another, he was alleged to have said to two employees, "If there is a Women's Day, there should be a man's day." He did not deny the comment, but claims he made it "in jest" and to "create dialogue." That was found to be sexual harassment, according to court documents.
Four of the substantiated misconduct claims had already been "resolved" after a former employee complained in Spring 2020, according to court documents. Phillips objected to those claims being included within the investigation, but investigators were "instructed" by the university to include them, he claims.
Phillips' lawsuit is the second following the investigation after Milovick launched a defamation claim against the complainants earlier this year.
None of their claims have been proven in court. The university and Fairbairn haven't responded to Phillips.
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