Gabrielle Russon
The Department of Health (DOH) has settled a federal lawsuit with the ex-Orange County deputy health director who sued in 2022 and accused her boss of discrimination.
Nasseam James accused Raul Pino, then the state’s chief health officer in Orange County, of discriminating against her because she was a Black woman, her lawsuit said.
The state denies any wrongdoing and will pay $35,757 for compensatory damages and back pay to James as well as $29,241 to her attorneys, according to the settlement released to Florida Politics in a public records request.
Both the state health department and James’ attorney called the resolution amicable and did not comment further.
The lawsuit ended in July 2023 with a settlement, after which it was dismissed. Florida Politics made a public records request for the settlement terms in October 2023 and received them five months later.
Pino was the high-profile chief Health Officer of the Department of Health in Orange County during the pandemic. He often appeared in the government’s regular press conferences to give the community information about the virus.
At the state health department, James’ lawsuit accused Pino of “a number of micro-aggressions, slights, and disparate treatment” against her.
James “would approach Mr. Pino regarding issues she was having with her staff following through on requests made and tasks assigned by her only to be told by Mr. Pino that he circumvented her and changed the requests and/or tasks himself. When asked why, Mr. Pino informed her that he was the ‘Health Officer’ and that he could make any changes he wanted to,” her lawsuit said.
The problems continued after James complained to human resources, she said in her lawsuit.
She accused Pino of retaliating against her, and she lost her job in August 2020, her lawsuit said. She filed a charge with the Florida Commission on Human Relations.
Pino clashed with the state and was suspended after he urged health department employees to get vaccinated and expressed concern about employees’ low vaccine numbers.
Eventually, he left for a new job. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings appointed Pino as the Orange County Director of Health Services in 2022. The Orange County government declined to comment Wednesday on this story.
