Was There A Culture Of Sexual Harassment At Fox News?

Many people hve heard about the recent sexual harassment scandal that led to the resignation last month of Fox News chief Roger Ailes from the network he started. It began with a lawsuit by former anchor Gretchen Carlson, whose contract was not renewed. She accused Ailes of harassing her and then retaliating against her. After Carlson filed her suit, almost 20 additional women claimed to have harassed by Ailes.

The network ordered an independent investigation into Carlson’s claims, which has included interviews with other female staffers. Current and former employees have gone public with stories of sexual harassment, including, reportedly, one of the network’s biggest stars, Megyn Kelly.

Often, when one person, particularly someone high up in an organization, engages in sexual harassment, the problem goes deeper. There may be a culture throughout the organization that allows harassment to occur and even enables it. (It should be noted that Ailes has denied the allegations against him.)

There have been conflicting reports about whether the law firm conducting the investigation at Fox News is looking into whether that culture existed or still exists at the network or whether the investigation is “winding down,” as one report said.

Employees who are suffering sexual harassment or any type of harassment or discrimination in the workplace have to be able to count on those in authority and on the human resources team to properly investigate and take action on their claims. When a culture exists in a workplace that looks the other way or even retaliates against an employee for reporting unacceptable and illegal behavior, that employee may have no choice but to take legal action. California attorneys with experience in handling sexual harassment cases can help people take that action and seek justice and compensation.

Source: Talking Points Memo, “NYT: Investigators Probing If Fox News Execs Enabled Ailes’ Alleged Harassment,” Katherine Krueger, Aug. 04, 2016