A former human resources manager at Viewpoint Construction Software has filed an employment complaint alleging that the Southeast Portland company fired older workers, employees on family leave, and others in protected classes in an effort to cut expenses and medical costs.

It's the second complaint made by a former high-level Viewpoint employee against the company's new management, underscoring a sharp division within the company following its sale to private equity firm Bain Capital two years ago.

Viewpoint said it hasn't received the new complaint, but from what it knows of the accusations it considers them "full of misstatements, mischaracterizations and false allegations."

The Portland company makes online tools to help construction companies manage their budgets and plan projects. Viewpoint is among the biggest technology companies, with more than 700 employees worldwide, nearly half of them at its headquarters at the end of the Hawthorne Bridge.

Viewpoint has replaced nearly its entire executive team since Bain took over. The company says it's in the process of consolidating acquisitions Viewpoint's former managers made, establishing a framework to expand the business and to operate effectively.

Relations between current managers and some of their predecessors, though, have grown downright nasty.

In a complaint last month to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, former human resources manager Jan Sadlowski writes that "Viewpoint executives intentionally targeted for termination older workers to be replaced by younger workers."

The company's new human resources chief, Sadlowski wrote, "told me to lay off or terminate employees that were on protected leave. She instructed me to terminate employees on pregnancy leave or medical leave. When I told her that was not legal and not best business practices and that I could not do that she told me that my job was to 'do what she told me to do' and said this is a 'new regime.'"

Portland attorney Jennifer Palmquist represents both Sadlowski and former Viewpoint chief financial officer Ben Ertischek, who sued last month alleging the company refused to pay severance it promised, defamed him and manipulated its finances to create the appearance of improved profitability.

In response, Viewpoint claims that Ertischek developed his new startup, CSquire, on company time and recruited Viewpoint employees to come work for it in violation of his employment agreement.

Sadlowski worked for Viewpoint for nine years beginning in 2006, rising to become its director of international human resources, responsible for offices in Australia and the United Kingdom. In March, Sadlowski said, she wrote to Viewpoint's board of directors to express her concerns about the company's new employment practices. She said Viewpoint placed her on leave following her letter and fired her in April.

In a statement, Viewpoint said it fired Sadlowski "for significant breaches of our employment policies," and said it looks forward to a thorough investigation by the EEOC.

"Viewpoint is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits any form of workplace harassment or discrimination," the company wrote.

-- Mike Rogoway

mrogoway@oregonian.com

503-294-7699

@rogoway