‘Equal opportunity bully.’ Former Sacramento County CEO cleared on discrimination claims

An independent investigator hired to examine claims of race, gender and age discrimination against former Sacramento County CEO Navdeep Gill found no merit in the allegations, according to a report released to The Sacramento Bee.

The county hired Karen Kramer Workplace Investigations to probe the complaints by current and former employees in the public health division late last year. While the investigation did not find Gill’s actions to be discriminatory against certain people, it did not fully exonerate him.

“Some might describe Gill as an ‘equal opportunity bully,’ ” the lawyer Karen Kramer wrote, “as his toxic behavior did not appear to focus only on females or only on people of color.”

Kramer concluded that Gill’s interactions with employees did foster a “toxic work environment” in the government agency that employs some 12,000 people. Gill was hired as an assistant county executive in 2007 and stepped into the top administrative job in January 2016.

The 25-page confidential executive summary report largely focuses on a period starting at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, including a tense phone call with public health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye.

In February 2020, Kasirye considered declaring a public health emergency as the number of COVID-19 cases rose. The advisory would have dramatically reduced business and school operations in the county. After listening to Kasirye’s plans, she said Gill started yelling over the phone.

“Do you know who I am? I’m the one that controls the resources,” Kasirye previously recounted to The Bee. “I don’t have faith in what you’re doing. Why are you declaring a health emergency?”

Gill unprofessional but not discriminatory, investigator says

Kasirye told investigators that she later learned that he had used a derogatory nickname to describe her and filed a complaint after he denied wrongdoing in statements to the media. The Bee reported that he allegedly called Kasirye, who is a Black woman born in Uganda, the “African Princess.” And he would sometimes refer to Supervisor Phil Serna, who is Latino, as a “fake Mexican.”

The report concluded that although Gill “behaved inappropriately and unprofessionally,” it was not enough credible evidence to conclude his actions were motivated by her race or gender.

When reached Monday, Kasirye said she had not seen the county’s latest report until The Bee shared a copy of the redacted document with her.

“This report was re-traumatizing for me. It seems to be dismissive of our experiences, in favor of the convenient excuses provided by the executive team members, for the maltreatment that we received,” Kasirye said.

“I also find it hard to believe that he took the time to give me a nickname based on my race or ethnicity and used it in executive meetings, but somehow it did not influence his perception of me or the treatment I received.”

Attempts to reach Gill were unsuccessful. He retired in February 2021 after he was placed on paid administrative leave and Kramer’s investigation was ongoing.

‘First step towards more equity’

Kramer also examined two other complaints. One was filed by public health division manager Pamela Harris and another by the former public health officer Dr. Glennah Trochet.

Trochet, who briefly rejoined the public health division as a contractor during the pandemic, alleged she was harassed and discriminated against because of her age, race and gender after Gill fired her.

The investigation did not conclude why Trochet was terminated. Even so, the investigator concluded that “the explanations provided by members of Gill’s executive team were plausible enough to determine the termination was not related to “age, race and or gender,” the report states.

“One member of Gill’s executive team reported that Gill opined that the former public health officer was “causing problems” because she created confusion by communicating with department heads, who questioned why the former public health officer was giving them directions,” according to the report.

Trochet refuted some of the investigation’s conclusions. “I was told that I was being fired at his (Gill’s) direction,” she said.

“Also I dispute that I was giving “direction to department directors” as my duties were to respond to questions from the public and outreach to many organizations that wanted to know how to protect their employees and clients from COVID-19,” Trochet said. “I was not in a management position as an on-call physician and I was well aware of that.”

Like Kasirye, Harris accused him of race- and gender-based retaliation. She was one of a handful of people who complained publicly about Gill to the Board of Supervisors.

The investigator probed whether Gill directed former health services department director Dr. Peter Beilenson to discipline both Kasirye and Harris for complaining directly to the supervisors about how little of the federal money was used for public health. The claim that it was based on gender or race was not sustained, according to the report.

Still, Kasirye praised the supervisors for taking their complaints seriously and for directing money to the public health division last year. Harris said even though Gill is gone, the county shouldn’t pat itself on the back yet.

“No (longer) having Gill as the CEO for Sacramento County is a first step towards more diversity, equity, and inclusiveness,” Harris said. “However, there is still work to be done. My hope is the lessons we all learned will not be forgotten.”