Former attorney for embattled Broward town was harassed by commissioner, lawsuit alleges

A former attorney for an embattled Broward town says she was tormented while working for the municipality due to her gender and sexual orientation. She’s suing — and seeking more than $100,000.

According to a lawsuit filed in Broward court Friday, former town attorney Melissa Anderson is alleging that the town of Pembroke Park — and specifically Commissioner Geoffrey Jacobs — maintained a hostile work environment, discriminated against her due to her gender and violated Florida’s civil rights act.

Anderson, a gay woman, began working as town attorney in September 2020.

“Throughout her employment..., [Anderson] performed her job duties and responsibilities as the Town Attorney in an exemplary manner,” attorney Diane P. Perez says in the filing. “However, during her employment, [Anderson] was subjected to discriminatory treatment and to a hostile work environment based on gender, gender stereotypes (i.e., a belief [Anderson] is masculine), and sexual orientation.”

The Miami Herald reached out to the town for comment but hasn’t received a response as of Tuesday evening.

The lawsuit accuses Jacobs of engaging “in a campaign of discrimination and harassment” against Anderson. According to the filing, the commissioner referred to her as a “f---ing c--t,” and told her several times to “shut up” and “f--k off.”

At some point during Anderson’s employment, Jacobs sent the attorney a TikTok that she deemed misogynistic, homophobic and threatening, the filing states. It featured a lesbian woman asking a nightclub owner what angers him about “masculine women.” The owner replied that they “think they are hot s--t” until they find out he can “beat the crap out of them.”

After sending the video, the commissioner forwarded it to the town manager, writing “this is your town attorney. She has seen it,” the lawsuit alleges. Jacobs later claimed he sent the video accidentally.

Anderson reported the conduct to Babette Friedman, the town’s human resources director, and contacted the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

When notified about the complaints by Friedman, Jacobs “falsely alleged” that Anderson had harassed him and other men in the town, according to the filing. Jacobs maintained that he wasn’t homophobic because he “worked with a great deal of gay flight attendants” and accused Anderson of “weaponizing her gender.”

The lawsuit also alleges that Jacobs recruited friends to file “false and unsubstantiated complaints” against the attorney, the lawsuit says.

“[The town] investigated those baseless and harassing complaints despite having failed to investigate [Anderson’s] legitimate complaints against Jacobs...” Perez says in the filing.

Anderson was fired by the town commission in December 2022. After she was let go, the town hired an outside investigator, who, according to the lawsuit, “ultimately found that [Jacobs’] behavior was likely harassing and created a hostile work environment.”

Jacobs’ attorney Michael Pizza told the Herald that Jacobs denies any wrongdoing and believes there is a vendetta against him among town officials because he “calls out corruption” and “refuses to be a part of the clique.”

Saga in small Broward town?

Pembroke Park — and commissioner Jacobs — have been no stranger to scandal.

In February, Jacobs was charged with a misuse of 911 — a misdemeanor — after prosecutors say he falsely accused Mayor Ashira Mohammed of bringing a gun to a public meeting in November.

Shortly before the meeting, Jacobs called the Broward Sheriff’s Office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement, according to a probable cause affidavit. He told authorities Mohammed was armed with a weapon and he was scared for his life.

Mohammed, confident she didn’t have a gun on her, demanded to be searched in plain view of the public, video shows. She didn’t have a gun on her.

READ MORE: Drama over an alleged gun in meeting is latest controversy for embattled Broward town

In August 2023, a report commissioned by the town and compiled by attorney Tonja Haddad found that Jacobs created a “hostile,” “volatile” and “toxic” work environment. The 17-page report included information from interviews with 13 witnesses, video evidence, messages and social media posts that “revealed a consistent narrative.”

The report, according to Local 10, accuses Jacobs of:

▪ Calling the town’s former human resources director, who is Jewish, a Nazi;

▪ Sending the town’s former attorney, who is openly gay, a “homophobic” and “misogynistic” TikTok, and calling her a “f---ing c---;”

▪ Referring to two commissioners as the “two idiots” and “overpaid, non-working a--holes.”

When he commented on the report’s findings in August, Jacobs said: “If everything they said was true, it’s not illegal to be an a--hole.”

In 2020, Mohammed was also accused of blurring the lines between official town business and her personal endeavors. An inquiry from the Broward Office of the Inspector General found that the mayor was using town employees to do work for her law firm and a campaign staffer to post from the town’s Facebook page.