CUNA Executive Charged In Employment Case

MADISON, Wis. -- A former CUNA employee charged during an administrative hearing last week before the state employment panel he was fired by the trade association after reporting sexist, racist and homophobic remarks allegedly made by John Franklin, CUNA’s chief financial officer. The Madison Equal Employment Opportunity commission began a four-day hearing Tuesday to decide the merits of a complaint filed against the CUNA by its former senior vice president, Michael Miller. Miller, who was hired at CUNA in 1996, and promoted to senior vice president for association services in January 2004. claims he received no complaints about his job performance prior to reporting Franklin’s behavior to superiors. The complaint claims Franklin "made numerous sexually and racially derogatory remarks, as well as derogatory remarks about the sexual orientation of others or what he perceived to be the sexual orientation of others." Miller said during last week’s hearing that employees complained to him about "the hostile effect it had on their working environment." Franklin, who served as president of the South Carolina CU League prior to going to work at CUNA in 2004, said during the hearing he was shocked when he learned of the complaint and made no recommendation to fire Miller.