Sex harassment accusation roils Orlando clinic
A psychologist and leader in Orlando’s gay community will be reinstated as president of Two Spirit mental-health clinic after an investigation by the board of directors into a claim that he sexually harassed an employee there, according to a spokeswoman for the clinic.
The psychologist, David Baker-Hargrove, 53, acknowledged “inappropriate communication” with the employee, Bobby Hermida, 23, in a statement he provided to the Sentinel.
The doctor and the clinic have been at the forefront of the gay community’s response to the Pulse nightclub shooting, in which 49 people were killed. Two Spirit has been receiving federal grants, up to $800,000, from the Department of Justice
to help victims.
Hermida, who was a receptionist at the clinic from August 2016 to mid-July, has taken to social media and publicly shared text messages sent by BakerHargrove. Local attorney Kimberly Lorenz is representing Hermida; she declined to say whether he has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Baker-Hargrove previously posted publicly on Facebook that Hermida’s allegations are false. His statement to the Sentinel said the inappropriate behavior was limited to communication only: “It is unfortunate that owning and correcting my mistake wasn’t enough; this individual seeks to hurt a business and all those who benefit from the important healthcare services we provide.”
The clinic’s attorney Suzanne Meehle said the texts were made “in the context of a flirtatious relationship” that Hermida initiated and don’t represent harassment. Baker-Hargrove is an owner of the clinic and serves as co-CEO.
“Do you wanna sext,” Baker-Hargrove wrote in February, according to images of the text messages shared online.
“No gurl go to bed,” Hermida replied. “Hahah, your a mess right David?” [sic]
Other images of text messages showed the doctor wrote, “Do I make you horny?” and “I really need to top you.”
Hermida said he wanted a promotion and felt like he had to go along. “They bought the phone that I was using, so I felt I had to fulfill talking to him,” he said.
When Hermida first reported Baker-Hargrove’s actions to the clinic staff and the board, they reassigned Hermida and gave him a new supervisor among other things, and he agreed not to take further action, according to Meehle and Hermida.
Colleen Chandler, Two Spirit’s board chair, said the board took the incident seriously and was confident that the texts were an isolated incident; she said Baker-Hargrove will be reinstated. “The Board is satisfied that the correct measures were taken,” Chandler said.
Hermida, however, claims he asked the clinic to add specific language to its manual to forbid sexual harassment, and they declined. Meehle denied that Hermida made that request.
The clinic provided a copy of its human resources manual to the Sentinel. It forbids discrimination of any kind and harassment or bullying in the workplace, but there is no specific mention of sexual harassment.
Hermida said he didn’t feel as if all the conditions of the agreement were met, and he still had to encounter Baker-Hargrove regularly. He stopped reporting to work. The clinic claims he resigned, but Hermida says he never did. On Dec. 3, Hermida started posting about the episodes on Facebook.
“I have something I’ve kept quiet about, the last four months, and it’s time to break the silence,” Hermida wrote.
Meehle didn’t respond to questions about the nature of the current investigation or what the board’s next steps would be.
The episode at Two Spirit comes while a national “me too” movement is sweeping the country, with dozens of women and men accusing powerful men of sexual harassment. Two Spirit’s federal grant meant it expanded rapidly, from a handful of employees to about 20.
Carolyn Stimel, executive director of the Florida Psychology Association, said psychologists have a duty to avoid harassment at work that goes beyond the law. She said that duty still exists even if an employee initiates flirting.
“It’s still a power differential. It’s still wrong,” she said.
Baker-Hargrove helped to establish Orlando’s huge annual Come Out With Pride event and parade. He is also a past president of the gay and lesbian chamber of commerce, MBA Orlando.
On the one-year anniversary of the Pulse shooting, he posted a message on the Two Spirit website saying it had taken a toll on him emotionally. He wrote that he had sought counseling and others should too, if they felt the same way.
“I behaved recklessly while telling myself nothing was out of the ordinary,” he wrote, not mentioning any specific behavior. pbrinkmann@orlando sentinel.com or 407-420-5660