*Fox News isn’t the only cable news outlet currently battling a racial discrimination lawsuit.
In December, CNN and other Time Warner units were hit with a proposed class action lawsuit in Georgia federal court, claiming among other things that African Americans receive lower performance ratings in evaluations, that there are dramatic differences in pay between similarly situated employees of different races, and that the promotion of African-American employees is blocked by a “glass ceiling, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The named plaintiffs include Celeslie Henley, who says she worked at CNN for seven years until she was allegedly fired after emailing human resources about discriminatory treatment.
“The complaint cites hiring and advancement statistics while alleging that African-American employees have endured slurs from superiors, including “It’s hard to manage black people” and “Who would be worth more: black slaves from times past, or new slaves?”
According to THR, the case against CNN may soon see its plaintiffs increase:
That’s because after the defendants moved for dismissal or at least a more definitive statement about specific allegations, also raising the prospect that some of the claims may be barred by statute of limitations or by plaintiffs not exhausting administrative remedies, the plaintiffs’ attorneys told the judge of their wish to file an amended complaint.
According to a plaintiffs’ motion to amend that was filed March 23, “Since the filing of this action, counsels for the plaintiffs have been contacted by more than 175 people, both former and current employees of the Defendant, requesting to be members of the putative class action, all having similar complaints of intentional racial discrimination, discrimination impact and discriminatory practices employed by the Defendants.”
The attorneys also write that many of the potential members recently coming forward are within the administrative process at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and awaiting their 90-days right-to-sue letter.
Time Warner has been given till April 14 to respond to the motion to amend the complaint.
As previously reported, the discrimination suit against Fox News, filed in New York Supreme Court last week by Tichaona Brown and Tabrese Wright, alleges that the two women were subjected to “top-down racial harassment,” specifically from Fox’s longtime controller, Judith Slater, charged with making slurs and derogatory comments like “Why are all black men women-beaters?”
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