Employee who accused CUC of corruption placed on admin leave

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has placed on administrative leave an employee who openly accused CUC of corruption and more during a legislative session and CUC board meeting last week.

Last Tuesday, CUC executive director Kevin Watson issued a notice for Candice Nicole L.G. Muña, a CUC employee who publicly accused CUC’s administration of corruption in the form of unlawful termination, mismanagement of funds, and more.

Muña made these statements during a CUC board meeting last Friday as well as during a joint public utilities, transportation and communications conference committee meeting last Thursday.

In addition, Muña expressed her support for oversite by CPUC and to hold CUC accountable.

In a statement from CUC’s acting executive director Betty Terlaje following the accusations, CUC categorically and unequivocally denies the “unfounded and baseless” accusations.

“I cannot comment in detail as I respect the confidentiality of the matter and trust the process to resolve Miss Muna’s concerns. However, I will say that we are disappointed that Miss Muña chose to voice her personnel grievance and make unwarranted allegations against management during the House PUTC hearing. We feel that these remarks may inadvertently detract from the important work being done for the very individuals she purports to represent. It is essential to approach these discussions with professionalism and care and allow the grievance process to take place accordingly. These involves personnel matter that is being handled in the proper administrative channels and, thus, CUC will not comment any further,” she said.

Then, last Tuesday, Watson served Muña a formal notification placing her on administrative leave effective immediately pending further investigation into a number of incidences.

First, Watson stated that Muña’s complaint was unsubstantiated and without basis.

“You submitted an entirely unsubstantiated complaint against a colleague. The employee filing the complaint bears the burden to prove the violations he/she is claiming. You failed to provide your witness list and evidence despite numerous reminders and extensions of deadlines,” he said.

Watson also stated that Muña displayed insubordination on multiple occasions, one of the instances being the disruption of last Friday’s board meeting.

“Recently, you disrupted an official board of directors meeting. This behavior constitutes not only direct insubordination, but violation of the chain of command and breach of company protocols,” he said.

Muña is also accused of unauthorized representations and breach of protocols.

“You have engaged in unauthorized representation and communication on behalf of the corporation with our local and federal partners without proper authorization. [In addition] you claim to have submitted grant applications on behalf of the corporation, however, failed to follow company protocols,” he said.

Lastly, Watson stated that CUC is investigating a complaint of harassment and hostile work environment filed against Muña.

“A formal complaint has been lodged against you regarding harassment and creating a hostile work environment. During this period of administrative leave, you are not authorized to perform any work-related duties, attend events, functions, meetings, and/or training as an employee of CUC, or access company premises. This leave is not a disciplinary action but a precaution measure to ensure a thorough and unbiased investigation. You will continue to receive your regular salary and benefits during this period. We will notify you of any further actions of decisions following the conclusion of our investigation,” he said.