Former artistic director sues Civic Theatre over firing
Miller was fired from the
Board members have said they can't talk about personnel issues without violating the law. The murkiness surrounding Miller's dismissal has fueled rampant speculation about what in fact prompted the board to fire Miller, who was a popular figure among volunteers.
The suit argues that the issue boiled down to health care costs.
The lawsuit claims that Miller was wrongly terminated and argues that his dismissal was related to the expense of treating his son, who has a chronic medical condition. For each of the last six years, those costs have routinely exceeded
The theater was suffering from financial difficulties at the time of Miller's firing, the lawsuit claims. His attorney says he believes the guest artistic directors who are now being hired to replace Miller's position are not provided with health insurance.
"Plaintiff (Miller) contends that he was discharged so as to interfere with and in retaliation for receiving benefits pursuant to the health insurance plan offered by the defendant," says the suit, which was filed in early August.
According to the lawsuit, Miller reported on several occasions to the theater board his concerns regarding the alleged sexual harassment of volunteers and employees by then-executive director
"The board was not receptive of these reports and the executive director remained in his position despite said reports," the suit states, referring to Miller's complaints to the board about Stavrou's behavior.
Miller's attorney argues that Miller's firing was a violation under the state's Human Rights Act, because Miller is a member of a protected class based on his "reporting and investigations of violations of the Minnesota Human Rights Act."
Miller says the reasons he was given for his termination were a pretext and not the real reasons for his firing. But the suit does not say what the board gave to Miller as its reasons for terminating him.
Calls to Miller's lawyer,
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Miller is seeking at least
The lawsuit was filed in
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