Wadsworth Museum accuses former worker of criminal wiretapping amid lawsuit battle

June 15 (UPI) -- The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Conn., has accused a former worker of criminal wiretapping amid a federal lawsuit battle.

Kate Riotte, the museum's former curatorial administrator, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Connecticut against the Wadsworth in March.

She claimed she was fired in 2021 over concerns regarding the museum's diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion policies, court records obtained by UPI show.

The museum bills itself on its website as home to a collection of nearly 50,000 works of art created over 5,000 years, primarily focusing on historical European and American art.

Riotte, in her complaint, said the museum had created a voluntary working group to address racial equity in February 2021 and that she had joined the task force.

"Why is equity essential for the growth of the Wadsworth? I would think that striving for equity would be detrimental to the organization," Riotte said in an email to the group's leaders when they solicited feedback from members about recent changes made to the institution's diversity effort.

Anne Rice, the leader of the group seeking to implement diversity initiatives, responded to Riotte with resources where she could "learn more about equity and racism," the court documents read.

Riotte's supervisors later held conference calls with her via Zoom to discuss Riotte's email. She was ordered to leave work later that week and notified she had been fired by phone.

The Wadsworth Museum hit back Monday by filing a document related to the case in which it accused Riotte of criminal conduct by violating state law against recording private telephone communications, the court records show.

Even if Riotte can establish that the museum is liable for firing her for violating her constitutional rights, the Wadsworth believes her damages would be limited because her case uses evidence that was obtained without the museum's consent, according to the documents filed Monday.

Connecticut law shows that consent of all parties to a phone call are required to give consent to a recording, with some exceptions primarily for use by law enforcement.

In its rebuttal, the Wadsworth Museum largely admitted to the facts of the case outlined by Riotte, stating that "those emails speak for themselves."

The Wadsworth Museum is seeking that Riotte's case be dismissed and an order requiring her to reimburse the institution for its court costs and attorney fees.