TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — Tarrant County's top health official resigned from his position Tuesday, according to county officials.
Neither Vinny Taneja nor the county provided a reason for his resignation, but it came about 24 hours after WFAA's news partners at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram published a report detailing a 2021 complaint made against Taneja.
County human resources investigators interviewed 16 current and former health department employees, some of whom alleged Taneja and assistant director Angela Hagy created a "toxic and hostile work environment." The interviewees are not named in the investigators' report because they claimed they fear retaliation, human resources staff wrote.
Taneja led Tarrant County's health department for almost ten years, including at the Coronavirus pandemic's height. His employees told investigators the pandemic exacerbated existing leadership problems, including micromanagement and bullying.
But county investigators found no evidence Taneja broke the law or opened the county up to potential discrimination lawsuits. Instead, the investigators recommended the county administrator "address these complaints regarding Vinny Taneja and Angela Hagy's management style to help rebuild trust between Public Health leadership and staff to prevent a loss of talent due to the current environment," according to a summary of their findings.
WFAA could not reach Taneja or Hagy for comment, though both refuted many of their employees' claims to county human resources investigators.
Tarrant County commissioners were scheduled to discuss the Public Health director behind closed doors during their meeting Tuesday. The officials did not offer any comment about Taneja after they returned to open session.
None of the commissioners nor Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare offered comments to WFAA upon request Wednesday.
The public health department oversees community health, vaccine records, restaurant safety standards, respiratory diseases and more. Deputy County Administrator Tom Stallings has been named interim director.
The County says they will immediately begin the process of searching for a new Public Health Director.