This Sioux Falls insurance executive testified at the state Legislature, then he got fired
A Sioux Falls insurance govt is suing his previous employer immediately after he was fired for testifying at the condition Legislature this calendar year.
Tim Donohue, a 40-calendar year veteran in the marketplace, was terminated by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. on Feb. 2, a week after he testified on a Senate invoice. Apart from suing Gallagher, his complaint also names Bob Jacobsen, Gallagher’s Des Moines-centered area president.
Submitted in district court docket in Lincoln County, Donohue is looking for at the very least $500,000. He is represented by Steven Sanford with Cadwell Sanford Deibert & Garry.
Donohue testified Jan. 25 on Senate Monthly bill 92 prior to the Senate Commerce and Power Committee. The bill sought to need general public danger swimming pools to disclose data to the Division of Insurance.
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In South Dakota, school districts, municipalities and other governing administration entities pool their assets to invest in insurance policies for wellness treatment, assets and casualty and workers’ compensation. Two swimming pools are run by the South Dakota Municipal League and the Affiliated Faculty Boards of South Dakota.
Senate Bill 92 demanded swimming pools that present workers’ compensation coverage to submit studies to the Division of Insurance plan that provided how considerably cash members – faculty districts and metropolitan areas – were paying in rates. The stories would also involve how a lot funds the swimming pools ended up earning, as nicely as other details. The bill also required the Govt Operations and Audit Committee to overview the reports every 12 months.
Donohue testified that private insurance coverage firms are previously essential to post detailed fiscal information to the division, but that the pools did not have the exact same specifications even while they were being promoting insurance policy. That was vital, he advised lawmakers, mainly because of the provenance from which the pools have been finding their revenue.
“I consider it is truly crucial that most people fully grasp these swimming pools are general public tax pounds,” he advised lawmakers. “And tax dollars require to be scrutinized even more so than personal income. This is the crux of the difficulty in this article.”
The invoice, which involved two former judges as its sponsor, was ultimately defeated. It was opposed by the Involved College Boards of South Dakota and the South Dakota Municipal League.
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Donohue’s complaint says he took a simply call from Jacobsen on Feb. 2 that had been scheduled for a distinctive function. In its place, Jacobsen fired him, citing his testimony at the Legislature. The grievance then alleges that Gallagher contacted Donohue’s consumers and told them he had been terminated “falsely imputing meant misconduct.”
Jacobsen did not immediately return a information.
The lawsuit contends that Donohue was wrongly terminated, and it seeks a restraining purchase to stop Gallagher from implementing submit-employment restrictions that were integrated in his work agreement.
This posting initially appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Chief: Sioux Falls male was fired immediately after testifying at the point out Legislature