Fox News Complaints By New York State Over Melissa Francis’ Sexism And Revenge Statements

The New York State Department of Labor is investigating Fox News over complaints of sexism and retaliation by former host Melissa Francis, who exited the conservative cable network last year amid a pay dispute, The Daily Beast has learned.

“Multiple Sclerosis. Francis filed a complaint with the New York State Department of Labor because Fox News has not changed and continues to discriminate and retaliate against women, including those seeking equal pay for their work.” equality,” Francis’ attorney, Kevin Mintzer, told The Daily Beast while confirming the probe.

“The NYS DOL does not comment (confirm nor deny) on potential or pending investigations,” a spokesperson for the NY State Department of Labor said.

A Fox News spokesperson would not comment on the investigation but acknowledged in a statement that “We broke up with Melissa Francis nearly a year ago.”

Last October, Francis was dragged away including her regular co-host on the midday roundtable outnumber and her own mid-afternoon Fox Business Network show. At the time, Fox News did not publicly comment on her status, instead framing the changes as an example of the network’s normal functioning.

“Fox News Media regularly reviews programming changes, including the daytime lineup, and will roll out new formats as appropriate after the election,” a network spokesperson said last year. “These changes are being made independently of any other ongoing issues.”

Los Angeles Times, However, reported that Francis was indeed locked up in a gender-based pay discrimination dispute with the company, which was adjudicated when she was removed from the airwaves. Francis, a former child TV star who worked with Fox for eight years, is said to have worked without a contract for about a year.

Francis specifically complained that she was underpaid compared to her male colleagues, Times reported further — something Fox News would not comment on at the time, citing security reasons.

The Daily Beast learned this week that New York’s labor department is conducting an investigation into Francis’ complaints about pay disparities and allegations that the network retaliated against her for making claims. there. The probe was opened in March of this year.

The employee rights attorney, who confirmed Francis is no longer employed by Fox, added: “We are pleased that the Department is conducting an appropriate investigation in response to her allegations. We will decline to comment further until that investigation is over. ”

News that New York’s labor department was investigating Fox News came just a few months later The network settled with the New York City Commission on Human Rights for $1 million about what the government considers “a form of violation of the NYC Human Rights Act.” This settlement represents an effective admission to retaliation against employees for sexual misconduct and discriminatory statements. (The commission began its investigation in July 2016 after Ailes was fired.) multiple allegations of sexual misconduct including former Fox host Gretchen Carlson’s Cursed Lawsuit. The Commission filed a formal complaint in December 2018.)

In addition to asking Fox News to remove confidential arbitration clauses from online talent’s contracts amid outside legal claims, the media empire’s settlement “also requires changes to immediately policies around reporting sexual harassment, retaliation, training and compliance.”

Reacting to the NYC Human Rights agreement, Fox News at the time said it was “happy to have reached an amicable resolution,” noting that the violations in the commission’s report occurred prior to the commission’s report. Current Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott takes over.

Multiple lawsuits against the network allege that Scott helped trigger a culture of harassment by former Fox News executive Roger Ailes. But Fox has staunchly defended the network’s boss when it comes to renovating the workplace. “FOX News Media has worked tirelessly to completely transform the company culture over the past five years,” a Scott spokesperson said of Scott in July. “Under the leadership of CEO Suzanne Scott, the network rolled out mandatory in-person harassment prevention training every year, creating an entirely new reporting structure that more than tripled in size. our staffing, start of quarterly company meetings and mentoring events. as has implemented a zero tolerance policy regarding misconduct in the workplace that we engage independent external companies to handle investigations. “

Fox News also cited its recent recognition as “Great place to work certifiedThe company as proof of the “many cultural changes” Scott made during his tenure.

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Diana Falzone is an on-camera and digital reporter for FoxNews.com from 2012 to 2018. In May 2017, she filed a sex discrimination and disability lawsuit against the network and settlement, and left the company in March 2018.