TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Dec 8, 2022

An investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services’s Office of Inspector General has found that the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence unlawfully retaliated against and then forced out an employee who blew the whistle about potential misuse of federal funding. Employee Veronica Quinonez was “constructively discharged” in 2019 after raising concerns about being forced to answer phone calls from victims, some who were in crisis. She said answering the calls violated the strict rules of the Centers for Disease Control grant that paid her salary. The investigation found she was also made to keep two timesheets – one for work she was supposed to be doing under the grant and the other reflecting what she was actually doing, which included handling calls from abuse survivors. A joint report from WPLN and the Tennessee Lookout details the investigation and prior troubling findings about the nonprofit.