Robert Lewis Publishes CUNA Letter on LinkedIn Stating He Wasn't Fired for Performance Issues
After less than a month on the job, Lewis was terminated after a confrontation with Jim Nussle that exploded with a racial allegation.
CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle wrote in a July letter published on social media Thursday that Robert E. Lewis was not fired from his chief advocacy job because of any performance issues. The letter was published by Lewis on his LinkedIn profile.
The letter asserted that Lewis was not fired for any dishonest or immoral conduct, and that he was not engaged in any unlawful conduct whatsoever at CUNA, including with any CUNA employees.
Along with Lewis’ comments posted on LinkedIn about how his good reputation has supported his success as a Washington, D.C. lobbyist for nearly 25 years, he included the July 25 letter from Nussle.
When contacted by CU Times to ask about the authenticity of the letter, a CUNA spokesperson replied, “No comment.”
After less than a month on the job, Lewis was terminated following a confrontation with Nussle and a racial allegation made by Lewis that he was a “token diversity hire.”
In the letter, Nussle wrote that Lewis was hired in January because of his stellar record and talent as a government lobbying professional.
“I would also like to reiterate the regard I continue to hold for your work as a government lobbying professional. I recognize that certain statements and reports in the media may have mischaracterized the reasons for your departure,” Nussle wrote. “So, I would like to take this opportunity to make my and CUNA’s views of your departure clear. As you know, your departure from CUNA was in no way performance related. It also was not due to any dishonest or immoral conduct on your part.”
He also wrote, “Specifically, you were not engaged in any unlawful conduct whatsoever at CUNA, including with any CUNA employees. I hope this counters earlier communications that may have caused concern regarding your departure. I have every expectation that you will provide excellent service to future clients and organizations.”
According to Lewis’ lawyers, David Sanford and Alok Nadig from the New York-based firm Sanford, Heisler, Sharp, LLP, just two days before Lewis’ termination, Nussle allegedly told Lewis that he (Nussle) “’never had a Black direct report in his career before,’ and then said, ‘I do not know how to manage you.’”
“How we see it is that CUNA anticipated that Robert Lewis would be a token diversity hire,” according to Lewis’ lawyers. “And when he attempted to actually do his job and exert authority over his majority white team, CUNA fired him after only 22 days.”
CUNA denied the racial allegations.
“CUNA will strongly defend unjustified claims and can clearly support its legitimate decision to terminate Robert Lewis,” CUNA said. “Mr. Lewis’s race was absolutely not a factor with regard to any employment decision and CUNA simply does not discriminate as to any protected characteristic.”
Lewis’ attorneys countered: “We disagree with Credit Union National Association’s (‘CUNA’s’) assertion that race was ‘absolutely not a factor with regard to any employment decision’ related to Robert Lewis.”
Lewis had been considering filing a lawsuit against CUNA, according to his lawyers.
Following this public squabble in February, both sides fell silent until Thursday when Lewis posted his comments on his LinkedIn page.
“Reputations are the life blood of my business and I’ve lobbied for nearly a quarter of a century. Never has my character, integrity and morals been called into question,” Lewis wrote. “Now more than ever, it is tremendously important to make sure my reputation remained in tact. Below is a statement from CUNA CEO Jim Nussle addressing my tenure as Chief Advocacy Officer at the Credit Union National Association.”
Lewis thanked his legal team, writing that he could not be more pleased with the outcome.
He did not elaborate on what that outcome was, and he did not respond to a CU Times request for additional comments. His lawyers were unavailable for comment.
Lewis is the founder and CEO of the Van Aucker Group LLC in Washington, D.C.
READ MORE: Jim Nussle’s Letter to Robert Lewis.