The director of the Tarrant County Public Health Department has resigned

Vinny Taneja, director of the Tarrant County Public Health Department, resigned Tuesday, county officials said in a news release.

Taneja led the health department since 2014.

Deputy County Administrator Tom Stallings will serve as the acting director of the department in Taneja’s absence, and a search will begin immediately for his replacement, according to the news release.

The release, which was three sentences long, did not provide details surrounding Taneja’s decision to resign.

County commissioners were scheduled to discuss Taneja’s position during a closed meeting Tuesday, but did not comment on Taneja’s job or their discussion.

Taneja’s management of the department was reviewed by the county’s Human Resources Department in 2022, after a departing employee reported “pervasive and persistent bullying” and a “toxic work environment.”

HR investigators spoke with 16 current and former employees of the department, all of whom expressed concerns about Tarrant County Public Health’s management during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taneja “presented a starkly different picture” of the department when he spoke to HR investigators.

The county’s HR report concluded that Taneja had not broken any state or federal laws, but urged the county administrator to address the complaints “to help rebuild trust between Public Health leadership and staff and to prevent a loss of talent due to the current environment.”

Employees complained that Taneja made threatening phone calls, that he yelled and cursed at employees, and that he “did not listen to staff needs and concerns,” according to the report. Those interviewed said they were “working 24/7 and burned out” responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that most of those interviewed by the HR department said they had considered quitting because of management issues. Employees also accused Taneja of not following established pandemic-response protocols or adhering to training they received before the pandemic started. Taneja denied these claims in interviews with the county’s HR department.

Taneja did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

The public health department is responsible for a range of services for the county’s 2.2 million residents, from inspecting restaurants to make sure they comply with health and safety standards to providing low-cost vaccines. Taneja oversaw the department as it faced some of its biggest public health challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which killed thousands of county residents, and a spike in congenital syphilis infections among infants. In its most recent community health assessment, in 2022, the health department identified the rate of drug overdoses, infant mortality, and diabetes mortality as among the most pressing challenges facing Tarrant County.

Do you have more information about public health in Tarrant County? Contact reporter Ciara McCarthy at cmccarthy@star-telegram.com or call or text 817-203-4391.

This story was originally published February 6, 2024, 6:03 PM.