New York Post Editor Must Answer Racial Discrimination and Sexual Harassment
New York, NY– Here is one salacious story of sexual harassment and discrimination the infamously snarky New York Post won’t be covering as the paper’s editor Col Allan will have to answer to some serious allegations in court.
The Post and its parent company News Corp. tried to have the case dismissed and will no longer have to answer to the shocking allegations. While News Corp. has been dropped from the suit Allan will still have to appear in court and answer to the allegations from former editor Susan Guzman who described the atmosphere are the NYC rag as “a hostile work environment where female employees and employees of color have been subjected to pervasive and systemic discrimination and/or unlawful harassment based on their gender, race, color and/or national origin,” Politico reported.
Former editor Susan Guzman filed the lawsuit three years ago when she says she was wrongfully terminated after objecting to a racist political cartoon. The cartoon in question insinuated that President Obama’s stimulus package was written up by a dead chimpanzee. Guzman, who is Latino, said the editorial cartoon was racist and alleges she was fired for speaking up.
In the lawsuit, Guzman says that the D.C. editor once stated that the Post was dedicated to destroying President Barak Obama.
Guzman’s 38 page complaint lists a number of the incidents where employees were subjected to racist comments and discrimination. According to the Atlantic Wire, Guzman had to endure hearing her coworker sing songs from West Side Story when she walked by, along with a litany of other racist behavior towards her and other employees.
But the hostile environment did not end there; Guzman also alleges she witnessed rampant sexual harassment. In one incident, reported by Politico, Guzman witnessed the Australian editor rub his penis against a female employee at an office party and the same editor made sexual comments about Guzman’s body. Allan also showed her and other women lewd pictures of naked men on his cellphone
Her lawsuit also states that another male editor approached a female reporter and promised her a permanent reporter position in exchange for oral sex.
The Post had tried to stop the suit on the grounds that Guzman did not make the same complaints while she was employed with papers, but they were unsuccessful. Now the papers and Allan will have to fight the charges without their powerful overlord News Corp.
In a statement released to the Huffington Post, the attorneys representing the Post said, “We are pleased that the claims against News Corp were thrown out. We look forward to presenting the truth about the remaining charges — which are completely unfounded — to a jury.”
If Guzman’s sexual harassment attorney is successful in proving that the Post fostered a hostile work environment she could receive a compensation for her loss of past and future wages and the emotional duress caused by the toxic environment at the paper
