A bit more turmoil has come to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Earlier this week a former curator sued the institution saying she was wrongfully fired because she was a union supporter and whistleblower.
In the suit, Lynn Orr, who spent 29 years working at the institution’s de Young and Legion of Honor museums, says she was told she was being fired for performance-related reasons despite having had sterling evaluations. She charges her dismissal is related to her appearance at a union protest and to objections she raised about the changing of an appraisal that she “believed fraudulent and unlawful.â€
Ken Garcia, a museum spokesman, said it has not been served yet with the lawsuit, which also names the city as a defendant. “When that happens, we will have an appropriate response and defend our position vigorously,†he said. The museum has previously said it investigated the appraisal and found nothing amiss.
The institution had been without a director for more than a year until the appointment last month of Colin Bailey. During that time, some staff, donors and board members complained about management.
