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New legal woes for OnTrack Three employees have resigned and filed another tort notice against OnTrack claiming interim management is maintaining a hostile work environment. Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch Monday Feb 27, 2017 at 4:49 PM Feb 27, 2017 at 6:37 PM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm A new legal claim has been filed against OnTrack Inc. and its board of directors by former and current employees who allege a hostile work environment at the addiction recovery program. The Mail Tribune obtained a Feb. 23 tort claim notice anonymously along with three letters of resignation this month from OnTrack employees Amy Jacobs, Cynthia Stevens and Debra Neville, all of whom cited acute stress, fear and paranoia. The tort claim notice specifically names interim executive directors Tonia Moro and Rick Nagel, along with former Executive Director Rita Sullivan, and claims they are in violation of health and safety codes and state and federal employment law. "Tonia Moro knowingly suggested that OnTrack would 'be better off without me,' " Jacobs wrote in her Feb. 3 letter of resignation. "Again, I felt attacked, cornered and vulnerable." The tort claim, which is an intent to sue, alleges, "Interim Director Tonia Moro knowingly verbally harassed claimant Jacobs in private." Jeff Matthews, a Eugene attorney for OnTrack, said, "OnTrack, as a matter of policy, doesn't comment on pending litigation." Attempts to reach Nagel were unsuccessful Monday. Jacobs, who was involved in a similar tort claim notice on Sept. 8, 2016, was named as a defendant in a separate lawsuit filed Feb. 1 in Jackson County Circuit Court regarding allegations of abuse by Travis Cavalli, head of OnTrack's Dad's Program. The $2 million suit was filed by Brandon Neims, who alleges Cavalli hit him in his "sides, arms, ribs and testicles (using his open hand or fist), kicked him, and struck him with objects (including a whip, a switch and a sock filled with rice)." In addition to Jacobs, Stevens and Neville, others who filed the tort claim against OnTrack include Chad Cain and Judi Willingham. Neville, who was diagnosed with leukemia in February 2016, claimed in the tort notice that she was required to work "because there was no one to cover." As a result, Neville said she couldn't take time off to attend doctor appointments and manage her illness. Neville, the former onsite case manager, claims interim director Nagel "unlawfully" approached her with a settlement offer without the knowledge of her attorneys. According to her letter of resignation, Neville said she received a 30-day notice Jan. 31 to vacate from OnTrack housing. At the same time, she stated she would be offered a new job as support staff for the teen residential program. OnTrack has been moving its clients in and out of residences to repair them after state health officials found "deplorable conditions." "Even with the state currently overseeing much of OnTrack's activities, the interim management has managed to maintain and perpetuate a hostile working environment and substandard working conditions," Neville wrote in the letter of resignation. Stevens, who was also onsite case manager, said in her letter of resignation that she was required to work while she was ill with various viral infections, including bronchitis. Stevens wrote that she was sporadically paid for overtime hours and had received an email from Moro that those payments have been "erroneously approved" and that she would no longer get overtime. Also informed she would have to vacate OnTrack housing, Stevens wrote that she was told she would be demoted to support staff at the teen residential program. According to two notices to vacate from Nagel, Stevens and Neville were told that OnTrack was renovating crisis housing centers. "After the renovation, OnTrack will no longer be utilizing live-in case managers, but will be running each center in shifts," the notices to vacate stated. The Sept. 8 tort notice lists OnTrack Inc., Sullivan and the OnTrack board as defendants. It was filed by Amy Jacobs, Chad Cain, Cynthia Stevens and Debra Neville and sent to OnTrack by Portland lawyer Clayton Joseph Lance and Medford lawyer Tracey Howell. Howell and Lance also filed the Feb. 23 tort claim. The Sept. 8 notice alleges Sullivan kicked or slammed her hand against things close to employees while yelling and cursing at them and berated employees in public and private. — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected].