While East Mississippi Community College officials said four positions from Lion Hills have been cut as cost-saving measures, two of those fired employees say their termination letters claim they were let go for misconduct — which the employees said caught them off guard.
The firings included the head chef, sous chef, event coordinator and assistant event coordinator at the club on Military Road, which has been under EMCC’s ownership since 2012.
The two employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the firing happened with no warning and no previous disciplinary write-ups, leaving them entirely unaware of what actions of theirs were ever considered “misconduct.”
What’s more, the ex-employees said they are even more confused by EMCC President Scott Alsobrooks’ recent statements to both the college’s board of trustees and The Dispatch suggesting they were laid off as a cost-savings measure for the financially struggling club.
One copy of the letter, which an ousted employee allowed The Dispatch to inspect on Thursday, says the termination is effective immediately and cites “acts constituting malfeasance, inefficiency, insubordination and/or other misconduct or omission, which, in the opinion of the President, adversely affects EMCC or the working environment of the College.”
“Considering all circumstances relative to your job performance to this point, this decision is made with the best interest of the College in mind,” the letter continues.
The letters were signed by Alsobrooks.
All four employees received identical letters, according to the two who spoke to The Dispatch. And those two believe EMCC fired them in this manner to avoid having to pay them unemployment benefits while they search for other jobs.
A representative with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security confirmed to The Dispatch that any employee who quits voluntarily or is terminated for cause will have their claim for benefits investigated and possibly denied, whereas a simple force reduction or layoff tends to trigger less scrutiny.
“We were in meetings where they would tell us about the finances and (the deficit spending) at the club,” one ousted employee told The Dispatch. “There was no conversation, though, where we were told, ‘Your job is on the line.’ … I think this is shady, confusing and it should have been handled differently. The thing is, we have this letter saying we were fired for insubordination. What kind of jobs can we get now with that?”
Alsobrooks and Lion Hills Director Cheryl Hubbard spoke with a Dispatch reporter about the culinary program’s restructuring on Tuesday. However, when The Dispatch asked school officials about the termination letter on Friday, both Hubbard and Director of Marketing and Recruiting Julia Morrison said they would not comment on personnel matters.
Alsobrooks did not return a text message or multiple calls to his cell phone on Friday.
Restructuring and financial woes
Lion Hills, formerly Columbus Country Club, includes a general club, golf course, pro shop, swimming pool and tennis courts. It hosts civic clubs, special events and a dining buffet for the public, as well as houses EMCC academic programs, such as culinary.
But Lion Hills, on the whole, has run significant deficits over the years, including about $500,000 in Fiscal Year 2019. So far this fiscal year, which ends June 30, Lion Hills has outspent its revenue by more than $208,000, including by $15,810 in food and beverage, according to financial documents the college provided The Dispatch. The projected loss for the entire club set in the FY 2020 budget is just less than $400,000.
On Monday night, Alsobrooks told EMCC’s board of trustees he eliminated four non-faculty positions at Lion Hills as a cost-savings measure.
On Tuesday, in interviews with The Dispatch, both Alsobrooks and Hubbard doubled-down on the claim, with Hubbard noting the “restructuring” of the culinary program would save $45,000 in operations cost this fiscal year with no change to services offered to the public.
Two faculty instructors, who train culinary program students at the facility’s “learning kitchen” to prepare them for professional workplace, will also now be teaching students at the main kitchen, Hubbard said. Before the change, students took classes at the learning kitchen with instructors before working at the main kitchen with the chefs.
The main kitchen provided the students a professional setting but did not offer much training, Alsobrooks said.
“It used to operate more like a restaurant in town,” he said. “We had people employed to come in and cook, prepare meals, and not so much engaged with the students.”
By making the main kitchen another classroom, Hubbard said the program can add another 12 students.
“By making the changes that we did, we have incorporated fully our faculty … into our food and beverage service,” Hubbard said. “The people who are teaching are the people who are working in the kitchen with them.”
The termination
On Feb. 24, the four fired employees had already worked a half-day before they were brought in after lunch and given their termination letters, according to the two who spoke to The Dispatch.
Hubbard, the Human Resources manager and a security guard were there, both said, and when the employees asked why they were being fired, they were told, “It’s all in the letter.”
The employees were then instructed to return any EMCC equipment in their possession. From there, the two said, they were given a brief time to collect their personal items before they were escorted off the premises by a security guard and told not to come back on the property.
“They treated us like we were criminals,” one of the ex-employees said.
The other ousted employee who agreed to an interview thinks the club’s financial situation, and the fact Alsobrooks wanted to show EMCC trustees he was doing things to improve it, was entirely why they were fired.
“I’m a professional, so if I had write-ups or any disciplinary issues, I would have known (being fired) was a possibility,” the former employee said. “They didn’t have anything on us. This was just their Hail Mary to keep the club open.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.