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California residents who watch Fox News might already be aware that members of the Fox News team have recently been plagued with numerous accusations of inappropriate behavior. At least three sexual harassment claims surfaced since 2004 and were settled. This number includes the most recent accusations against Bill O’Reilly.
In 2004, a former Fox producer accused O’Reilly of sexual harassment. That claim was settled along with another in Sept. 2015. The most recent accusations were also against O’Reilly. Another broadcaster, Juliet Huddy, claimed that O’Reilly broached the subject of a sexual relationship with her back in 2011. When she rebuffed him, she said that O’Reilly threatened to destroy her career.
The popular news show host was not the only one at Fox News to be accused of sexual harassment. After allegations by Gretchen Carlson against CEO Roger Ailes surfaced, he was forced out in Aug. 2016, and her claims were settled by 21st Century Fox, which is the parent company of Fox News. Then in Dec. 2016, information regarding a letter to Fox News from Huddy’s lawyers surfaced. The details of the recent settlement of her claims remain confidential, but she did agree not to file suit against the network in exchange for a monetary settlement.
Many sexual harassment claims settle instead of ending up in a courtroom. However, that does not mean that a California resident subjected to such harassment and/or retaliation at the hands of a supervisor, co-worker or member of management should not be prepared to go to trial if necessary. No one should be forced to deal with these types of behaviors at work. The law protects victims and provides for restitution for the damages harassment, retaliation and perhaps wrongful termination cause.
Source: USA Today, “Fox settled sexual harassment claim against Bill O’Reilly“, Roger Yu, Jan. 10, 2017