Two former employees of DARTS filed suit Tuesday against the West St. Paul nonprofit, claiming they were forced to resign after raising pointed questions about how the organization operated its transportation service.

For more than two decades, DARTS has provided mobility service to disabled residents and their caregivers in Dakota County on behalf of the Metropolitan Council, the regional planning body for the Twin Cities metro area. But in September, the council terminated two DARTS contracts worth $13.7 million after discovering that records were falsified and that buses were inadequately maintained. The contract ends Sunday.

Former employees Kevin Raun and Robert Loeffler allege in their complaint that they were pushed out because they raised questions about whether DARTS could comply with legal obligations associated with Metro Mobility and Transit Link bus service.

Raun, who was DARTS' director of transportation, left in February, while Loeffler departed as operations manager in July.

The suit, filed in Dakota County District Court, alleges that DARTS officials "publicly defamed" the two former employees and violated the state's whistleblower law. The suit also names DARTS CEO Greg Konat and chief strategy and operations officer Subramanian Krishnan.

Konat, who had not seen the lawsuit when contacted Tuesday, said the allegations are "not true. Both of those individuals resigned voluntarily."

The Met Council will hear the nonprofit's appeal of the contract cancellation Wednesday at its regularly scheduled meeting.

Janet Moore • 612-673-7752