Newspapers aren’t what they used to be but they’re still being published. Many of the larger newspapers are still doing print and are online. Smaller papers have reduced the number of days they print and on other days they are online only.
The largest of the newspaper publishers is Gannett. It’s now being sued by white workers for reverse discrimination.
The suit was filed in a federal court in Virginia last week by five current and former employees who claim they were fired, or passed over for a promotion, so less-qualified women and minorities could have those jobs.
The reason the women and minorities were hired — the suit says — is to help the company meet its diversity quota from the 2020 policy Gannett put into place to have its newsrooms look like the demographics of the communities they cover.
The whole plan was to be total operational by 2025.
The plaintiffs also said executives got bonuses and promotions for meeting the goals of the — what they consider, ill-conceived — policy. “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 lawsuit language states.
The company quickly fired back with a news release from Polly Grunfeld Sack, Gannett’s chief legal counsel. She said Gannett always seeks to recruit — and retain — the most qualified workers possible.
“We will vigorously defend our practice of ensuring equal opportunities for all our valued employees against this meritless lawsuit,” Sack said in a statement.
This lawsuit isn’t standing out there by itself. Employees, and potential employees, of other corporations are also firing back. Starbucks, Target and Progressive Insurance have faced suits from shareholders upset about their diversity policies.
Source link: Insurance Journal — https://bit.ly/45zRTjl
