Even though we would all hope that large publications such as the New York Times would support having a diverse work force, it seems that may not necessarily be the case. The publication recently settled a case with a woman who filed an age, race and gender discrimination lawsuit against the publication. The terms of the settlement are confidential and the case cannot be refilled again. At the time that the lawsuit was originally filed, the paper called the lawsuit “malicious” and false and apparently vowed to have a “vigorous defense” against it.
The lawsuit came from a former advertising vice-president who was fired after she complained of sexist behavior by a male co-worker. The Asian-American 51-year-old woman said the company started systematically getting rid of older employees who were mostly minorities after she arrived to the paper in 2013. She even claims one manager told her they are trying to make their employees look like the individuals they are selling to.
When one reporter asked the New York Times for paperwork related to its workforce, the paper refused.
Another lawsuit has also been filed by a woman who was a former director of advertising projects. She was laid off during maternity leave. Before being laid off she apparently argued with managers after they tried to get her to shorten her leave time.
It will be interesting to see if this lawsuit progresses and whether other lawsuits are on the horizon. It is possible that this may be a very unfortunate trend within the company.
