Nashville Health Director’s Job In Doubt After HR Report Confirms Complaints Of Sexism

A growing list of Metro Council members want the head of Nashville’s health department fired, after complaints of sexism were largely corroborated by the city’s human resources investigators.

According to their report, Dr. Michael Caldwell asked for the immediate firing of bureau director Rachel Franklin this spring, and in talking to a human resources manager, he questioned her “emotional stability” because she was pregnant.

“If I were you, I would never utter those words again,” the HR manager told him.

Others complained that in a departmental restructuring, women were largely given diminished roles while men maintained much of their authority.

“It’s like a joke now, about how sexist he is,” epidemiologist Leslie Waller told investigators. “We have two male staff who work closely with our team, and they notice it too.”

More: Download the 15-page report

Caldwell did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But he sent an email to employees Wednesday morning,

“I am reviewing this sincerely and take the report seriously,” he writes, according to the email obtained by WPLN News. “I will be addressing any deficiencies of unconscious bias.”

Now, several Metro Council members are calling for Caldwell to step down or be fired, but it’s not up to them. The Metro Board of Health hired Caldwell just as the pandemic began, and the board is scheduled to discuss the HR report Thursday afternoon at 4.

Metro's COVID-19 response has been largely inadequate and confusing. Now we know its leadership has been abusive and punitive.

Dr. Caldwell should resign, or be dismissed.https://t.co/LIIWnE5hqD

— Colby Sledge (@ColbySledge) December 9, 2020

“We are committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment for all of our employees,” board chair Dr. Alex Jahangir  says in a written statement to WPLN News, calling the report “a very thorough investigation.”

Throughout the pandemic, Caldwell has been tasked with carrying out the city’s pandemic policies, though many of the decisions have been made by Mayor John Cooper. In fact, Caldwell has disagreed with Cooper on key policy responses. Initially, he fought mandating masks because of how hard a rule would be to enforce.

Caldwell lost favor among some city officials when he argued to continue sharing COVID-19 patient information with law enforcement, even after the state decided to stop.