Plastics association, ex-CEO Radoszewski in legal battle

The Plastics Industry Association filed a lawsuit July 8 in federal court against its former CEO, Tony Radoszewski, alleging he violated his employment contract by not relocating to its Washington headquarters and that he owes at least $163,000 in improperly paid expenses.

The group filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging that Radoszewski, who was its CEO from September 2019 until he was fired March 25, 2022, collected a relocation bonus in his contract but did not move from his home in Texas.

Radoszewski did not respond to a request for comment, but he had previously filed a lawsuit in May in state court in Texas seeking more than $609,000 in severance payments, as well as a similar lawsuit July 11 in federal court in Dallas.

In his lawsuit, Radoszewski argued that his employment agreement did not require moving to the Washington, D.C., area, and since he was being terminated without cause, he was owed his $546,000 annual salary, a $30,000 bonus for 2021 and other monies.

The end of Radoszewski's tenure had been rocky, with several key staff leaving and some association member companies saying they had become concerned about staff upheaval and the direction of the association.

Before taking over leadership of the association, Radoszewski had been president of the Plastics Pipe Institute in Irving, Texas from 2006 to 2019 and had a several decades long career in the plastics industry.

The court documents do not mention the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that began in early 2020 on working in the association offices or potential relocation.

The association said in a statement that it filed its legal action in response to Radoszewski's court actions.

"PLASTICS would have continued to work amicably on all outstanding matters, but Mr. Radoszewski has chosen to have his issues resolved through the courts instead," said Tad McGwire, chairman of the association's board and CEO of Industrial Heater Corp.

The plastics association's lawsuit said Radoszewski's contract included a one-time relocation bonus of $135,000, as well as $8,100 a month for three months and travel expenses for house hunting and other costs.

The suit said that he directed association staff to pay him the money before he moved.

"Mr. Radoszewski continued to maintain that his relocation was imminent, but did not relocate to Washington, D.C. at any time during his tenure ... and did not take any tangible measures toward relocation," the suit said.

The association argued that in both the employment contract and in conversations before he took the job, Radoszewski was told the job required him to move to the D.C. area.

It said his failure to relocate hurt staff morale.

"Mr. Radoszewski arbitrarily, and without a good faith justification, delayed and then effectively refused, to relocate to Washington, D.C.," the group said. "Consequent to this failure to relocate, PLASTICS has suffered significant loss of morale and staff retention."

The group's lawsuit asked for a jury trial in Washington federal court and is seeking $163,628 plus additional damages to be determined at trial.

An affidavit from association Chief Financial Officer Wayne Popham included in the court filing quotes Popham saying that in late November or early December 2019, Radoszewski directed him to pay him the relocation bonus ahead of moving.

"At this time, Mr. Radoszewski assured me that he would be permanently moving to the Washington, D.C., area in the very near future, within a matter of months," the affidavit said. "Mr. Radoszewski stated that he preferred to receive relocation funds in 2019 for tax reasons."

Popham said Radoszewski worked in the Washington office 126 days between September 2019 and March 2022.

The association included its March 25, 2022 termination letter to Radoszewski in the filing, where it said his failure to relocate was a breach of his employment agreement.

The letter from board members Tad McGwire, Phil Wilson and Jamie Clark said association leaders told Radoszewski repeatedly that relocating was needed for the job and that he agreed before taking the position.

"Consequent to this failure to relocate, the association has suffered significant loss of morale and staff retention, as well as a loss of confidence by staff and board members in its executive's good faith and willingness to fulfill his duties," the letter said.

Radoszewski's lawsuit said that the employment agreement did not require relocating.