UO whistleblower lawsuit alleges job termination after filing complaints about supervisor 

A former longtime University of Oregon business employee alleges retaliation by the university after she complained about a supervisor’s “mismanagement, gross waste of funds, and abuse of authority.”

Cherokee Staples filed a wrongful discharge lawsuit Wednesday, March 11, in Lane County Circuit Court, also alleging sex discrimination and a violation of the state’s whistleblower protection law.

Staples began working for UO in 2011, and, in 2023, became a director of business operations, the lawsuit states.

Complaints she made between March and October 2024 about the supervisor, Richard Menard, were “ignored or minimized” by an associate vice president, Jon Marchetta, the lawsuit says. A memo from Staples and other employees complaining of “inappropriate jokes about pregnancy” and other comments also resulted in no action taken, the lawsuit claims.

In a statement, UO spokesperson Natalie Hurd said: “We disagree with the allegations in the complaint and will address them in the court proceedings. 

“We want to be clear: the university takes all complaints of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation seriously. UO has established policies and processes for reporting and investigating workplace concerns, and we are committed to maintaining an environment where employees can raise concerns without fear of retaliation.”

Staples and others who wrote an October 2024 memo complaining about Menard were laid off in a March 2025 “restructuring,” the lawsuit states.

Staples is seeking up to $550,000 in damages from the University of Oregon, a total that includes $40,000 in lost wages and benefits and $510,000 because of emotional distress, reputational harm and other noneconomic damages.

Neither Menard nor Marchetta are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Specifically, Staples alleges she reported that Menard “hired a personal friend as a consultant” and paid the hire “without a proper amendment to her contract.” In addition, Menard allegedly “incurred personal expenses such as taking her out for an expensive dinner but submitted them as reimbursable business expenses.”

The lawsuit also alleges Menard hired “a nonapproved external vendor,” bypassing approved vendors in a way “contrary to policy and procedure.”

Among other alleged policy violations or attempted policy violations, Menard allegedly asked Staples to process a $50,000 stipend “in a manner contrary to policy due to a personal commitment he made to the recipient.” The lawsuit states Staples and others “pushed back and escalated the issue to superiors to prevent the misprocessing of funds.”

The lawsuit alleges Menard’s actions were “violations of law and University policy and procedure.”

Other allegations refer to “racist” and “sexist” comments made Oct. 3, 2024, at an employee meeting. Menard allegedly “joked that certain employees, one of whom is a person of color, ‘would be lynched’ if they did not meet a deadline,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit also claims Menard made “multiple inappropriate jokes about pregnancy and expressions of disgust about pregnancy, saying ‘ewww’ or ‘oh no.’” 

Menard is alleged to have improperly disclosed a staff member’s pregnancy leave and also  expressed disappointment at the person taking leave.

Staples “was disturbed by the vehemence of his clearly negative feelings about pregnancy and pregnant people and felt marginalized and personally anxious, particularly because she was trying to conceive,” the lawsuit states.

Staples and “three other senior team members” sent a memo in October 2024 to Marchetta that “explicitly raised incidents of discrimination and hostile work environment they had experienced and witnessed.” Marchetta took no action, the lawsuit states.

In a statement, UO spokesperson Natalie Hurd said, “We are unable to address the specific allegations described in the complaint because they are the subject of court proceedings, but we can confirm that UO investigates concerns raised through its reporting processes in accordance with university policy and applicable law.”

In March 2025, Marchetta told Staples along with “the other three senior team members who had made complaints” — as well as Menard — that they would all be laid off as part of a “restructuring.”

While Staples was eligible for the reemployment pool after the layoff, she did not make the final stage of interviews for a similar position and UO hired “a less qualified candidate,” the lawsuit said. Staples lost her job in June 2025.

Hurd, the UO spokesperson, did not respond to a question asking if Menard is now employed by the university.

That lawsuit states that Staples later learned Marchetta allegedly “commented that she was let go because she made complaints.”

Attorneys Katelyn S. Oldham and Alex G. Meggitt with the Oldham Law Office in Beaverton are representing Staples.