Commerce chief accused of sexual harassment
Woman complained of ‘unwelcomed sexual advances and touching’ by Hodgen Mainda, formerly of Chattanooga’s EPB
An employee of Tennessee’s commerce department says the agency’s chief made unwanted advances toward her at a work conference this year, allegations that preceded the commissioner’s resignation this week.
Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Hodgen Mainda of Chattanooga, a former EPB executive who was appointed by Gov. Bill Lee to the position in October 2019, on Monday submitted his resignation letter.
In the letter, Mainda cited “an opportunity to transition to the private sector” as well as to spend more time with his family in Chattanooga.
But a copy of a state human resources report obtained by The Tennessean shows that Mainda was at the center of an HR investigation in September regarding “unwelcomed sexual advances and touching.” The matter was ultimately referred to Lee’s office to resolve.
According to the employee’s account in the report, she and
Mainda were both attending an out- of- state work conference in February when he allegedly made multiple inappropriate advances, including kissing her, inviting the woman to his hotel room and “[resting] his hand on her rear end while at a bar.”
The employee — who did not file a report about the harassment but rather disclosed to colleagues that she was uncomfortable with Mainda’s behavior at the conference — said he invited her into his hotel room, and despite her declining the request, kissed her three times
while outside the room, according to the report.
During the HR investigation, Mainda said he did not recall the events occurring and “denied any inappropriate conduct on his part during the conference,” according to the investigative summary.
The investigator found “insufficient evidence to substantiate” allegations that Mainda subjected the employee to sexual harassment while at the conference, which no other department employees attended. The Department of Human Resources then referred it to Lee’s office on Sept. 23 for “review and appropriate handling.”
Reached by email for comment, Mainda directed The Tennessean to Ben Rose, who he has retained as his attorney.
“We have no comment at this time,” Rose said Friday.
Lee’s spokesperson Laine Arnold offered only a brief statement when asked about what action the governor’s office took upon receiving the HR investigative summary.
“The governor is aware of the investigation,” Arnold said. “He has accepted the commissioner’s resignation.”
While the conference took place early this year, state HR officials didn’t receive a report about the allegations against Mainda until Sept. 15.
The Department of Human Resources’ general counsel conducted the investigation since it involved allegations against a commissioner. HR officials concluded that at least one supervisor in the Department of Commerce and Insurance failed to report possible sexual harassment under the state’s Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Policy after learning about a portion of the allegations.
The female employee had told the colleague, who is in “a supervisory role,” that Mainda made her uncomfortable by asking her to come to his hotel room after dinner, according to the report summary.
It’s unclear when the woman first disclosed the information, which other colleagues in addition to the supervisor had also learned about but were not required to report, according to the HR investigation. The woman is not named in the investigative summary obtained by The Tennessean.
Tennessee’s Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Policy states that supervisors who receive a complaint alleging discrimination or harassment at work or of conduct violating the policy must “immediately report any such event to the department’s human resources director, EEO officer or to the person designated by the agency to receive the information.”
Mainda’s last day as commissioner is Nov. 13. His annual salary is $161,904.
Prior to serving as commissioner, Mainda was vice president of community development at EPB in Chattanooga.
Mainda, a native of Nairobi, Kenya, moved to Tennessee in 1997 to attend Middle Tennessee State University.
Lee has not yet announced who will take Mainda’s place.