A former employee of the Insurance Information Institute is suing his former boss and the organization’s owners on allegations of discrimination and retaliation.

Michael Barry, who worked at Triple-I for more than 17 years and was a senior vice president, said in a lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court for the State of New York that Sean Kevelighan, chief executive of Triple-I, fired Barry after he tried to protect a coworker being bullied and harassed by Kevelighan.

Barry, former chief communications officer, is suing for past and future wages as well as compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit names Kevelighan and Triple-I parent The Institutes as defendants.

According to the lawsuit, Barry in 2023 testified during an internal investigation against Kevelighan regarding a “heated and abusive verbal exchange” with a gay employee in June 2023 during which Kevelighan allegedly used homophobic slurs and harassed the employee. The suit said The Institutes hired an attorney to investigate Kevelighan’s “behavior during the exchange and on other occasions.”

After his testimony, Barry said, he was given a substandard performance rating by Kevelighan that prevented Barry from collecting an annual bonus for the first time during his employment with Triple-I.

Barry was fired March 6, along with another employee who also testified against the CEO, according to the suit. Bonuses were announced on March 7.

The Institutes is a nonprofit whose mission is to educate risk management and insurance professionals. Its brands include Triple-I, CLM, Risk & Insurance, Insurance Accounting & Systems Association, Insurance Thought Leadership, and Insurance Research Council.

The Institutes did not respond to requests for comment.

This article was previously published by Insurance Journal.