lawyerlee
06-25-2007, 10:51 PM
Has anyone been following this story?
Ex-CBS News Producer To File $50M Sexual-Orientation Discrimination Lawsuit Against Network (http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/scandals/excbs_news_producer_to_file_50m_sexualorientation_ discrimination_lawsuit_against_network_61702.asp)
Richard Jefferson, a former CBS News producer who was brutally attacked while vacationing in St. Martin last year in a gay-bashing incident, is set to file a $50 million sexual-orientation discrimination lawsuit against CBS News, FishbowlNY has learned.
Jefferson alleges that senior vice president Linda Mason tried to control his public comments in the wake of the attack, and wound up terminating him.
CBS plans to "vigorously and aggressively" defend itself, according to a statement obtained by FishbowlNY late Sunday.
"I thought I was in the Twilight Zone," Jefferson told blogger Kenneth Walsh recently. "I was back at work and simply seeking justice. You can get attacked by a bunch of thugs anywhere, but the St. Martin police turned their heads — not because we were gay, but because we were tourists. I thought I was doing the right thing, but CBS made me feel like I was doing something wrong."
CBS says Jefferson's suit "reveals a stunningly selective recall of the 'facts,' both real and imagined, including omission of the extraordinary lengths to which CBS News and, specifically, Ms. Mason, went to airlift him to safety and better medical treatment ”at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars paid for by the Company” after the attack, which Mr. Jefferson suffered while on a personal vacation."
Fired Worker Sues CBS Alleging Gay Bias (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/06/25/ap3855909.html)
But back at work, Jefferson said, senior vice president Linda Mason tried to control his public comments about the incident, telling him, "If you get involved in advocacy issues, we might ask you to take a leave of absence."
"She told me this was a gay rights issue and I said it had nothing to do with gay rights; I was the victim of a crime," Jefferson said.
Jefferson's lawsuit names CBS and Mason as defendants, along with CBS News executive producer Patricia Shevlin.
Jefferson claims CBS "improperly pried into his private life, dictated his after hours activities, restricted his First Amendment rights, created false complaints about his performance," and then "terminated him on the basis of his sexual orientation."
What happened to Jefferson is horrible and senseless, everything else aside. But it is so hard to tell what really happened between him and CBS. If CBS is truthful in saying they severed the relationship at the end of his contract, I cannot imagine he has much of a case. They very well may not have renewed his contract because of some prejudice, but there is nothing preventing them from doing that. I take issue with it on a moral level if the decision was based on him speaking out about his attack, but I don't think there is anything illegal about that under these circumstances.
I must say, though, that it is entirely irrelevant to this case that CBS helped him obtain medical care. That's great, but that doesn't mean he wasn't discriminated against later on.
Ex-CBS News Producer To File $50M Sexual-Orientation Discrimination Lawsuit Against Network (http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/scandals/excbs_news_producer_to_file_50m_sexualorientation_ discrimination_lawsuit_against_network_61702.asp)
Richard Jefferson, a former CBS News producer who was brutally attacked while vacationing in St. Martin last year in a gay-bashing incident, is set to file a $50 million sexual-orientation discrimination lawsuit against CBS News, FishbowlNY has learned.
Jefferson alleges that senior vice president Linda Mason tried to control his public comments in the wake of the attack, and wound up terminating him.
CBS plans to "vigorously and aggressively" defend itself, according to a statement obtained by FishbowlNY late Sunday.
"I thought I was in the Twilight Zone," Jefferson told blogger Kenneth Walsh recently. "I was back at work and simply seeking justice. You can get attacked by a bunch of thugs anywhere, but the St. Martin police turned their heads — not because we were gay, but because we were tourists. I thought I was doing the right thing, but CBS made me feel like I was doing something wrong."
CBS says Jefferson's suit "reveals a stunningly selective recall of the 'facts,' both real and imagined, including omission of the extraordinary lengths to which CBS News and, specifically, Ms. Mason, went to airlift him to safety and better medical treatment ”at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars paid for by the Company” after the attack, which Mr. Jefferson suffered while on a personal vacation."
Fired Worker Sues CBS Alleging Gay Bias (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/06/25/ap3855909.html)
But back at work, Jefferson said, senior vice president Linda Mason tried to control his public comments about the incident, telling him, "If you get involved in advocacy issues, we might ask you to take a leave of absence."
"She told me this was a gay rights issue and I said it had nothing to do with gay rights; I was the victim of a crime," Jefferson said.
Jefferson's lawsuit names CBS and Mason as defendants, along with CBS News executive producer Patricia Shevlin.
Jefferson claims CBS "improperly pried into his private life, dictated his after hours activities, restricted his First Amendment rights, created false complaints about his performance," and then "terminated him on the basis of his sexual orientation."
What happened to Jefferson is horrible and senseless, everything else aside. But it is so hard to tell what really happened between him and CBS. If CBS is truthful in saying they severed the relationship at the end of his contract, I cannot imagine he has much of a case. They very well may not have renewed his contract because of some prejudice, but there is nothing preventing them from doing that. I take issue with it on a moral level if the decision was based on him speaking out about his attack, but I don't think there is anything illegal about that under these circumstances.
I must say, though, that it is entirely irrelevant to this case that CBS helped him obtain medical care. That's great, but that doesn't mean he wasn't discriminated against later on.