From Rindi White in Wasilla:
Two former Matanuska Electric Association executives are suing the cooperative for what they say are breaches of their employment contracts.
The two employees, former assistant general manager and human resources director Tuckerman Babcock and former information technology director Bruce Scott, were fired in April.
The cooperative’s board of directors, which opposes the management style of longtime general manager Wayne Carmony, instructed Carmony to fire Babcock and Scott “without cause.”
The two men served in at-will positions and according to a civil complaint filed last week by their attorney Susan Orlansky, they were “subject to termination at the discretion of Mr. Carmony.”
But a second clause in the contract states “If Mr. Carmony is no longer general manager of MEA, then MEA may only terminate this agreement with cause.”
Babcock and Scott argue that the MEA board tried to avoid paying their severance by ordering Carmony to terminate them, and that their firing was not at Carmony's discretion. Their argument is that since they were fired without cause and not at Carmony's discretion, they should have received severance pay.
A final paycheck from MEA included payment for two weeks that Scott and Babcock were suspended without pay, but no severance pay according to their complaint.
In the complaint, Scott and Babcock say they are entitled to the cash value of the salary and benefits they would have otherwise received until their contracts ended April 1, 2011. The complaint does not state that amount, only that it exceeds $100,000.