UCHRA Board Reconfirms Former Executive Director’s Termination

The Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency’s (UCHRA) Executive Committee voted Wednesday to reconfirm former director Luke Collins’ termination.

The vote comes after Collins alleged the board violated Sunshine Laws when they elected to terminate him last year.

Danny Rader serves as the UCHRA’s attorney in the lawsuit.

“There’s no merit to that claim at all, and the fastest way to deal with one of those claims is for the board to just have a new substantial re-deliberation,” Rader said. “That’s what the board did today, voting to terminate him again effective May 9, 2018. We’ll file a motion now to dismiss his Sunshine Law claims based on this new vote.”

Board members voted unanimously to re-terminate Collins from the agency. Overton County Executive Ben Danner and Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton abstained from voting due to advice from legal counsel.

Collins filed the wrongful termination lawsuit last month against the agency and multiple Upper Cumberland government officials, including Shelton and Danner. According to the lawsuit, Collins is seeking $500,000 in damages, including over $12,000 in unpaid vacation time and travel expenses that he accrued.

Rader said he feels confident the lawsuit will be dropped following Wednesday’s vote.

“We felt like we would win the case anyway, but this was a faster resolution,” Rader said. “We just believe that his lawsuit has no merit whatsoever and we hope the judge throws it out.”

UCHRA board members voted last August to rescind a $27,500 settlement offer to Collins in a lawsuit dropped last year.

Danner addressed the current and previous lawsuits during Wednesday’s UCHRA meeting.

“I’m not for rewarding someone that cost this agency and the people that it serves so much,” Danner said. “I see no reason to reward him. We gave him several off with pay while we were investigating him. All of us have employees working for us, and none of us would keep an employee working for us that was doing the things that were happening here. That’s the bottom line. We’re the boss of the executive director and our job is to do what’s right for the people.”

Rader said a hearing will likely take place later this summer where a judge will consider the case.