Third Black Employee Sues Fox News for Racial Discrimination

Photo: Andy Kropa/Getty Images

Fox News’ legal woes just keep getting bigger. This morning, another black female employee in Fox News’ payroll department is joining a racial discrimination lawsuit filed last week by two of her black colleagues.

The employee, Monica Douglas, Fox News’ manager for credit collections, alleges that she was subjected to years of racist slurs by Fox’s longtime comptroller, Judy Slater. Among the allegations, Douglas asserts that Slater complained she had “black eyes” as opposed to the “Aryan race” who have blue eyes and blond hair; called her Brooklyn neighborhood “the murder capital of the world”; and expressed “an unwillingness to even be near black people.”

Last month, Fox fired Slater, saying in a statement: “We take any complaint of this nature very seriously and took the appropriate action in investigating and firing Ms. Slater within two weeks of this being brought to our attention.”

But today’s amended court filing challenges that claim. Douglas says Fox News executives knew about Slater’s conduct for years despite the fact that Slater allegedly pressured Douglas not to report her behavior. (“Don’t bother going to HR … I am HR,” Slater allegedly said). Beginning in 2014, Douglas complained about Slater to Fox general counsel Dianne Brandi on multiple occasions and, according to Douglas, “nothing was done.” The suit describes one meeting in which Brandi allegedly told Douglas: “Slater will not be fired, because she knows too much,” in reference to alleged financial improprieties committed by Ailes and former Fox News CFO Mark Kranz.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are currently investigating whether Fox News hid sexual-harassment settlements from shareholders.

Third Black Employee Sues Fox News for Racial Discrimination