Hunter
09/13/23
A lawsuit filed against Mercy Iowa City claims that two executives terminated last summer have not been paid their promised severance package.
The Gazette reports that Dawna Miller and Judy Andronowitz were Mercy’s chief financial officer and clinic chief operating officer, respectively, until August 2022 — around the time the hospital told employees its search for a new strategic partner was unsuccessful, and it would remain an affiliate of Des Moines-based MercyOne.
The newspaper obtained an e-mail from July 28th of that year, where then-acting President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Trachta announced the fruitless search for a new partner and the departure of Miller and Andronowitz. They were subsequently terminated in August and according to the lawsuit, entered into a severance package that agreed to pay the two 12 months of severance that was part of their initial offer letters. The offer obligated Mercy to pay severance due to a reduction in force or a restructuring of executive positions.
The suit, filed in Johnson County, is asking the court to declare Mercy in violation of Iowa’s Wage Payment Collection Law. They’re seeking the pay they’re owed plus interest and attorney fees.