Fox News has settled a series of racial and gender discrimination cases for a reported $10 million.
The first suit was started over a year ago by two black employees in Fox’s payroll department who claimed they faced “top-down racial harassment.” The suit quickly expanded into a class action involving nine more plaintiffs, including on-air personality Kelly Wright, who said racial discrimination limited his career advancement at the network.
On Tuesday, along with news of the settlement, Wright announced that he as leaving Fox News to “pursue new opportunities.”`
Two other cases involved gender discrimination. Fox Radio correspondent Jessica Golloher had complained about being marginalized as a woman, and a Fox 5 correspondent had alleged pregnancy discrimination.
“The parties have reached mutual agreements that resolve various cases involving former Fox News employees,” Fox News and the plaintiffs’ law firm, Wigdor Law, said in a statement. They did not specify the figures involved, but the Wall Street Journal reported $10 million.
According to a Variety report, attorney Douglas Wigdor is still representing the plaintiffs in a further two suits against Fox, but filed to withdraw on Monday due to an “irrevocable breakdown of the attorney-client relationship.”
One of those cases involves former Fox News pundit Scottie Nell Hughes, who alleged rape by Fox Business Network host Charles Payne, while the other is a suit by a former private investigator over his misquotation in a report.
Fox News was reported a year ago to have paid out $45 million in sexual harassment settlements since mid-2016, largely due to harassment by Roger Ailes, who left as CEO at that time. Fox host Bill O’Reilly also paid out tens of millions to settle sexual harassment allegations, although that was out of his own pocket.
