TYSONS, VIRGINIA: Mike Reed is the CEO of the media giant Gannett which has now been sued by a handful of former and current employees who claimed that they lost their positions in the company because of the media house’s new diversity hiring policy.
The media conglomerate headquartered in Virginia owns multiple news outlets with USA Today being its flagship brand. Reed has been heading the company since 2006.
Why are the workers filing a lawsuit against Gannett?
The five current and former employees filed the lawsuit citing that the company allegedly discriminates against white employees, per Fox 59.
The dissatisfied employees claimed in the lawsuit that they were let go of their positions or passed over for promotions to give preference to less-qualified women or people of color.
This was done to comply with the company diversity policy which was adopted in 2020 to make the workforce look similar to the community they cater to by 2025.
In one of the latest cases of “reverse racism” in America, a lawsuit was filed by employees of the company in the federal court of Virginia.
The employees who filed the lawsuit asked for a jury trial, and compensation along with an “immediate end” to the diversity policy, per Daily Mail.
The lawsuit says, “Gannett executed their reverse race discrimination policy with a callous indifference towards civil rights laws or the welfare of the workers, and prospective workers, whose lives would be upended by it.”
The five plaintiffs also cited the Supreme Court’s decision taken earlier this year to eliminate all race-based college admissions.
The employees also quoted Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote in the court’s majority opinion that “eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” The plaintiffs believe this remark can help them in their case.
In a similar fashion, 13 Republican attorneys general wrote a letter to leaders of companies urging them not to use affirmative action policies after the court’s decision.
They wrote, “We urge you to immediately cease any unlawful race-based quotas or preferences your company has adopted for its employment and contracting practices.”
“If you choose not to do so, know that you will be held accountable — sooner rather than later — for your decision to continue treating people differently because of the color of their skin,” continued the attorneys in the letter.
Who are the employees suing Gannett?
The five employees suing Gannett are Steven Bradley, Stephen Crane, Noah Hiles, Barbara Augsdorfer, and Logan Barry.
Bradley, who was a sports editor for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, was fired last year after 37 years of service. Per the suit, he was terminated from the position because he is white.
Barry alleged in the suit that he was on the verge of being promoted to the leadership role in Progress-Index in Petersburg, Virginia, but was let go to give preference to a black woman with lesser qualifications. This happened after Gannett acquired the news outlet in 2019.
Augsdorfer alleges that she too has a similar experience when she was sidelined from her role as an education and nonprofits reporter at the Savannah Morning News for making space for black employees.
'Gannett always seeks to recruit and retain the most qualified individuals for all roles’
After the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit, Gannett motioned a pushback with their legal counsel Polly Grunfeld Sack saying in a statement, “Gannett always seeks to recruit and retain the most qualified individuals for all roles within the company.”
The company added, “We will vigorously defend our practice of ensuring equal opportunities for all our valued employees against this meritless lawsuit,” while all hires and promotions done in the company are based on merit.
