A former Concord Food Cooperative employee has sued the natural foods grocery store, saying a longtime general manager recorded her illegally and without her knowledge.
Filed in Hillsborough County Superior Court, the lawsuit is fallout from a dispute last year, when staff united to oust two top managers and improve the work environment at the co-op. In mid-July, a majority of employees prompted the board to investigate allegations of professional and financial misconduct by former general manager Paula Harris and customer service manager Josh Bourassa. While the results of the investigation were never made public, the board announced in September the two were no longer employed at the store.
At the Concord Food Cooperative, more than 7,000 members and employees own shares of the business. The Monitor learned of the investigation through documents and statements provided by current and former employees, which detailed the rift.
In January, a former bakery employee named Elaine Speer filed a lawsuit against the Concord Food Cooperative. According to the complaint, Harris asked Speer and another employee to remain in the general manager’s office alone after a staff meeting in June 2015. During the 15 to 20 minutes the two women waited in the office, the suit alleges Harris recorded their conversation without their knowledge. Speer was fired and escorted out of the building later that same day, the complaint states.
Under New Hampshire state law, it is illegal to record a phone call or conversation with another person without his or her consent.
“It’s troubling that people were doing that with employees, and then probably using whatever the employees said when they thought they were in a candid moment against them,” said attorney Chuck Douglas, who is representing Speer. “It’s an invasion of privacy under New Hampshire law.”
Douglas said he does not have a copy of the tape, though the lawsuit states Bourassa did. He declined to elaborate on what was said during the conversation that was allegedly recorded. Neither Harris nor Bourassa are named as plaintiffs.
“Keep in mind, the people who did it were high ranking,” Douglas said. “Any corporation has to operate through people.”
The Concord Food Cooperative’s attorneys declined to comment on the case. Earlier this month, they filed a response to the lawsuit that denies most of its central claims.
The case has not been scheduled for trial. Speer has sued for attorney’s fees and damages, and the lawsuit claims her managers’ actions caused her “emotional distress and harm.”
The c0-op spent months searching for a new general manager and hired Chris Gilbert for the job. He started at the beginning of April. He declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying the case is still being litigated and involves personnel issues.
He also said he believes communication has improved at the store, describing the staff as “a team.”
“This has to do with former management, and really has nothing to do with the current operations at the store,” Gilbert said.
(Megan Doyle can be reached at 369-3321, mdoyle@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @megan_e_doyle.)