Over the years, numerous families have visited the Forest Manor Multi Service Center in times of need.
They may have had difficulty paying their rent or utilities, or they may need positive activities for their children.
“Our whole mission has been to help people in need,” said Regina Marsh, chief executive officer. “They may come in for bus tickets, for food, school uniforms or to see our mental health counselor. What Forest Manor has become is the organization that serves as the first point of contact in a crisis in this community. Not only for individuals, but also business owners and churches who we work with to champion causes.”
However, as the center celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, it has recently had to respond to allegations made by two former employees.
Lonnie Whitfield, a former transportation specialist, has made allegations of unfair treatment and unpaid wages against Forest Manor Multi Service Center.
Whitfield, who drove a bus for children and seniors, alleges he was unjustly fired in August, and that Marsh did not fully investigate the details of his termination.
“I never got a warning or written notice, she just fired me,” Whitfield said.
After his termination, Whitfield inquired about being compensated for overtime work he claimed to provide and unused vacation time, totaling 80 hours.
“I provided services to the after school program, and took kids to museums and wherever they needed to go in the evenings after my job was over with, and never received a dime for it,” Whitfield said.
Ultimately, Whitfield said Forest Manor denied owing him the back pay, so he filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Later, an investigator with the U.S. Department of Labor concluded the center owed Whitfield more than $3,000 in back pay.
In addition, Whitfield noted, he was one of several employees who worked during the annual Wes Montgomery Festival, one of the center’s signature events, and a garage sale, without compensation.
In a document obtained by the Recorder, 13 current and former employees are shown to be owed various amounts of money for work during the festival. The center was given an extension to pay them, which ends Feb. 28.
Another former employee, Whitney McTush, has come forward with claims of misappropriation of resources by the center.
“She had me going three or four months lying to clients, saying we didn’t have the funds for certain things when we actually did, and lying on reports saying we spent federal money we never spent,” McTush said of Marsh.
McTush added that she met Marsh as a troubled child, and admitted that the community leader once served as a mentor to her, helped her obtain a scholarship and even gave her a job at the center as a receptionist and family service coordinator.
“I was tired of lying and felt bad about it,” McTush said, noting that when she expressed an unwillingness to fabricate information and personal dissatisfaction with aspects of the job, she was fired by Marsh.
Whitfield and McTush, showing voided checks and a ledger, went on to claim that after a year of clients being told certain funds were not available, money that had accumulated and should have been returned to the funder, was offered to staff members as a bonus fund for rental and mortgage assistance.
Forest Manor responds
To put rumors to rest, Marsh agreed to discuss the allegations and address them head on.
“It wasn’t that we were withholding anything from them. They are going to be paid,” she said of the employees who worked during the Wes Montgomery Festival. Since Forest Manor is a non-profit, normally employees volunteer to work for special events. However, in this situation, employees were supposed to be posted as exempt.
“This is purely a misunderstanding on behalf of our professional employment organization that does our human resources,” Marsh said. “We had several employees that were not categorized as salary-exempt, and was instead categorized as hourly.”
Due to the mistake made by the outside vendor handling payroll, Marsh noted, employees were not immediatly paid for their time. Labor officials are allowing the center to repay the employees, since it doesn’t have a lot of cash income, and then get reimbursed by the accounting company for its mistake.
As for Whitfield, Marsh described him as a “disgruntled” ex-employee who “suddenly, after being here for over a year and a half” decided that he was owed overtime.
“We totally disagree with his claim, but because we want to move forward and want him to be paid and happy, we’re going to do that,” she said.
Marsh added that after being director of the center for more than 15 years, only five people have been terminated. Most of those who leave depart on their own, she said, adding that no one has ever been fired until they get a verbal warning, written up several times and a suspension.
“The two employees making allegations were terminated because of what they didn’t do on their job,” Marsh said.
Whitfield, she said, stopped by his home to check on a family incident in which the police had been called. In the meantime, the bus he was driving was carrying senior citizens who allegedly had to wait 45 minutes as he resolved the emergency.
“We are talking about seniors with health issues on a hot bus,” Marsh said.
Whitfield said he only briefly stopped by the home, which was on the bus route.
In McTush’s situation, Marsh said she refused to assist another employee, and when confronted, became unreasonable.
“Walking out of a meeting slamming a door and screaming expletives to your supervisor is not a way to resolve a conflict,” Marsh said. “Would you expect to still have a job if you were warned that if you walked out of the door you will be terminated, and you hollered back explititives?”
Showing ledgers of recent expenses to the Recorder, Marsh said the center has a tight financial checks and balances system overseen by its board.
“We have a transparency process in place so that the board can see whatever is happening,” Marsh said.
All finances are conducted by an outside firm, Financial Technologies Management, which uses MIP software that cannot be easily manipulated.
Marsh said accusations by Whitfield and McTush that she instills fear in her employees is simply not true.
“It’s asinine to think that I would hire people and not allow them to have an opinion when our daily job is to give opinions and make decisions for people everyday,” Marsh stated. “That would not be good leadership. I simply ask people to do their job. Forest Manor has expectations of greatness for our community as well as our staff, and we expect everyone to work up to their best potential.”
Current employees and volunteers of the center offered their thoughts about the center.
“What is amazing about this center is you constantly have an opportunity to make a difference for people. Everyday you get something different,” said receptionist Mark Foster, who noted that the center has hired several individuals who once struggled with problems related to finances and the criminal justice system.
Terry Triplett, who volunteers with youth in the center’s after school program, said it has provided him with a way to give back.
“I’ve been places where questionable things went on and I had to leave,” said Triplett. “But I knew from the beginning this is a place I wanted to donate my time. Far too often we criticize kids but don’t step up to help them, and this is a great place to do that.”
