The University of Oregon is being sued for $550,000 by a former senior team member of the business operations department alleging that they faced retaliation by the university after filing complaints against a manager for “gross waste of funds and abuse of authority.”
Cherokee Staples, who was previously UO’s director of business operations, filed the suit on March 11 for wrongful termination and violation of Oregon’s whistleblower protection law, which prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who report action they believe violates local, state or federal law.
Between March and October 2024, Staples brought issues to the associate vice president of administrative services about new Supervisor Richard Menard, who had been hired in December 2023…