“The [Ave Maria] administration asked me to stop talking to the Department of Education, but I couldn’t do that. They [Ave] threatened my job if the outcome of the [DoE] investigation didn’t come out right. .. We’ll see whether the law is interested in letting someone with a lot of money hold all the cards.”

Monaghan appears to be using a legal stall tactic - and his deep pockets - to bleed Ernsting dry financially before she can have the merits of her case evaluated in court. Monaghan claims that the federal Department of Education's Office of Inspector General is not a law enforcement agency and, thus, is excluded from Michigan's "Whistleblower Protection Act", which Ernsting seeks relief under. (To note, agents of the Inspector General carry badges, guns, and have the authority to arrest individuals). When asked about examining the merits of Ernsting's case, Monaghan's lawyer even admitted "We hope we don’t get to that point."

Monaghan's lawyers also claim that “Ms. Ernsting’s employment was terminated when the department in which she worked was eliminated as part of the planned wind-down." If so, why does Monaghan not stand with Ernsting as an equal before a judge and allow the case to be decided? Why all the appeals, possibly all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court? It is AveWatch's understanding that, in fact, another person was hired to replace Ernsting as chief financial aid officer of the College; if an institution like Ave Maria receives federal financial aid, then a person at the College must oversee the distribution of that aid, and that person is bound by law to report violations involving federal aid to the Department of Education. At the time of Ernsting's firing, the school still had about 200 students.

Naples News - full story | AveWatch archive - Whistleblower Wins in Court

Tags: employee-treatment