Gannett faces discrimination allegations for implementing racial quotas against white employees.
A Group of Employees Sue Gannett for Racial Discrimination
A group of five current and former employees are taking legal action against Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the United States, accusing the media company of racial discrimination.
The employees allege that Gannett, which owns USA Today and numerous local publications, implemented a policy in 2020 aimed at aligning the demographics of its newsrooms with the communities they cover. However, the lawsuit claims that this policy, referred to as a “Reverse Race Discrimination Policy,” resulted in the exclusion of white males and the forced removal of existing white employees.
The five plaintiffs have filed a civil complaint seeking a class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and others affected by Gannett’s hiring practices.
Lead Plaintiff’s Experience
According to the complaint, lead plaintiff Steven Bradley had worked for the Gannett publication Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, for 21 years. When the company introduced its new newsroom demographics policy, Bradley alleges that he was forced out of his position solely based on his race.
The complaint states, “There can be no question that Mr. Bradley’s termination was directly based on his race and resulted from the Reverse Race Discrimination Policy. For example, the Democrat and Chronicle’s executive editor commented that he decided to terminate Mr. Bradley’s employment rather than another worker, Mark Liu, because Mr. Liu was Asian and Mr. Bradley was White.”
During the same period, another non-minority member of the Democrat and Chronicle’s sports team, who had been with the team for 37 years, was also reportedly terminated, while no non-minority members of the sports writing staff were forced out.
Discrimination in Hiring Decisions
After leaving the Democrat and Chronicle, Bradley applied for a position at another Gannett news division in New York. He completed three interviews and was informed that he was one of two top contenders for the role. However, the publication ultimately hired a black female candidate with fewer qualifications.
The lawsuit also alleges that the Gannett employee responsible for talent recruitment and retention at the time of the policy’s implementation instructed managers not to hire any more straight white males.
Barbara Augsdorfer’s Experience
Another plaintiff, Barbara Augsdorfer, had been working for Gannett’s Savannah Morning News for six months when the publication hired a black woman as its new executive editor. The lawsuit claims that the new editor actively sought to change the paper’s demographics.
Augsdorfer, who had been covering the education beat, was unexpectedly transferred to cover two local counties. Despite expressing a desire to continue covering education, she was told that the reassignment was necessary. A black person was then hired to fill the education beat, and Augsdorfer was allegedly denied access to her previous beat’s contacts.
The lawsuit continues with Augsdorfer’s experiences, but the remaining text is not visible on the front end and does not need to be edited.
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