Following extensive allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace, a slew of current and former Fox News employees have now taken legal action against the network, this time alleging “hostile racial discrimination” at the company, according to The Washington Post.
A combined total of 13 people of color have filed lawsuits, turning to different federal courts and discrimination resources with their allegations. Emmy-winning reporter Kelly Wright is one of eleven who took to the New York State Supreme Court to file a class-action lawsuit against Fox News; an additional former employee filed a separate discrimination lawsuit in the Southern Distract of New York.
The thirteenth and final person has taken a discrimination charge to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The complaints all in part address alleged behavior by Judith Slater, the company’s longtime comptroller, who was fired in February. The complaints allege that Slater subjected black and non-white employees to “top-down racial harassment,” including insinuations that black men were “women beaters,” mocking the way employees pronounced words like “month” and “ask,” while also perpetuating racial stereotypes about Mexicans, Chinese men, and people of Indian descent.
The lawsuits come just a week after cable news network king Bill O’Reilly was ousted from the network after a bombshell New York Times exposé showed he and Fox had paid $13 million in out-of-court settlements over the years to clear up his alleged indiscretions. Reports peg O’Reilly’s payout at up to $25 million, or one year of his salary.
Read the full Washington Post report about the allegations and pending litigation.
—RealClearLife
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