Fox News and 21st Century Fox, the network’s parent corporation, has agreed to pay the largest-ever fine assessed by the New York City’s Commission on Human Rights in its six decade history for a string of sexual harassment and abuse cases filed by principally female employees, the Daily Beast reports.
The seven-figure settlement addresses “a pattern of violating of the NYC Human Rights Law,” according to the commission. It could open a pantheon of new harassment suits because it requires the news network to remove non-disclosure clauses from any person employed by the company over the last four years. The NDA removal covers on-air talent, including contract employees and contributors, as well as behind-the-scenes workers who file complaints with the city commission. The agreement also dismissing mandatory arbitration for employees who seek justice, allowing them to sue in civil courts.
The settlement “also demands immediate changes to policies surrounding reporting sexual harassment, retaliation, training, and compliance with the NYC Human Rights Law,” according to a statement from the commission, which added: “The Commission will monitor the network on a quarterly basis for a period of 2 years to ensure compliance.”
Fox News was hit by a string of sexual harassment and abuse claims based on the behavior of executives like Roger Ailes and on-air talent like Bill O’Reilly, Ed Henry, Eric Bolling and Kimberly Guilfoyle, among others. Among those making complaints were Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly. The network spent tens of millions of dollars to settle claims and to buy out contracts of both victims and perpetrators.
“I’m not aware of any government agency requiring an employer to stop silencing victims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation, and that’s what NDAs and arbitration do–they silence victims,” Labor lawyer Nancy Erika Smith, who represented former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, told The Daily Beast. “So bravo! Finally! The government is seeing that silencing victims protects harassers.”