WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – A Virginia woman alleges her former nonprofit employer terminated her employment shortly after she objected to alleged conflicts of interest.
Kendra Davenport filed a complaint March 23 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia against Family Matters of Greater Washington Inc. over alleged violation of the District of Columbia Whistleblower Protection Act and wrongful discharge.
According to the complaint, the defendant is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and provides mental health and human social services to the area. The plaintiff was hired in January 2017.
The plaintiff alleges that between February 2017 and April 2017, on multiple occasions she emailed reports to the defendant's chief executive officer and president recommending actions to mitigate the company's "misuse of state and federal government funds" and "its inability to comply with the terms of its state and federal grants."
However, the CEO allegedly did not address her concerns but instead instructed an employee to "spy" on her, the suit states. She alleges she was terminated on April 11, 2017, without any explanation.
The plaintiff holds Family Matters of Greater Washington Inc. responsible because the defendants allegedly terminated her a short time after she voiced her opposition to alleged conflicts of interest.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment for compensatory and punitive damages, costs, experts' and attorneys' fees, and such relief that the court may deem just and equitable. She is represented by R. Scott Oswald and Andrew M. Witko of The Employment Law Group in Washington. D.C.
The defendant removed the case to U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on April 19.
Superior Court of the District of Columbia case number 1:18-cv-00922-ABJ