Laguna Art Museum faces a whistleblower complaint from a former senior staffer claiming she endured retaliation after informing board members about violations of state employment law, court records show.
Bernadette Clemens, a former LAM director of advancement, filed an Oct. 12 complaint in Orange County Superior Court alleging the nonprofit missed payrolls, failed to mail tax documents to employees, didn’t file its 2020 tax returns, and cut staffers’ pay by 5% even though it received two federal Paycheck Protection Program loans.
The Museum secured a $260,500 loan in April 2020 to retain 31 jobs at risk during COVID-19— this sum has been paid in full or forgiven. In January 2021, the Museum secured a $260,540 loan that’s still outstanding, according to federal records.
Clemens was tasked by the Museum Board chair Joe Hanauer and finance committee in December 2020 with additional responsibilities which included acting as a banking and Human Resources benefits contract signer, the complaint states. This was around the same time former executive director Malcolm Warner retired from the Museum.
“[P]laintiff found that many legal requirements were not being met by LAM,” Clemens’ attorney Douglas Hoang wrote in the complaint. “Moreover, LAM employees expressed numerous concerns and complaint directly to Plaintiff regarding various issues including legal violations by LAM.”
As early as February, Clemens internally voiced concerns about employment law violations to Museum board...
‘SINO’NG MAY SAKIT?’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. teased the crowd in a rice distribution this Thursday and lifted a 10-kilogram sack of rice over his head in a bid to show strength and debunk an...