Woman claims magazine discriminates based on race

By Matthew Marks on August 30th, 2014 in Workplace Discrimination

A woman fired earlier this year from her job as a Senior Editor at People magazine believes that the company is biased against African-Americans. The 48-year-old woman—who is African American was reportedly the only black individual to serve in that role with the magazine. She recently filed a lawsuit against the magazine, its parent company, Time Inc. and her former supervisor. In it she seeks money damages of an unspecified amount. She claims that she was discriminated against.

Prior to getting the job with People the woman worked for Essence, a magazine geared toward an African American audience. When she moved to People she said that she was told by her boss that she needed to change the way she talked because she wasn’t at Essence anymore. That type of treatment made her feel like a second-class citizen.

She also said her boss was not receptive to her attempts to include more stories on black people in the magazine. In addition, her boss allegedly kept her from attending important meetings and of the magazine’s 100 workers, only five were African American.

Discrimination in the workplace based on being a part of a protected class, such as race, is illegal. Accordingly, when it does occur a victim can file a lawsuit like the woman in this case did. These cases can be complex. Accordingly, it is important that someone who feels that he or she has been discriminated against, regardless of the reason, contacts an employment lawyer for assistance. They can help to determine the best way to proceed.

Source: New York Daily News, “Fired black editor of People sues magazine over alleged discrimination against African-Americans,” Dareh Gregorian, Aug. 20, 2014