Vice Media Sued For Alleged Gender Pay Discrimination

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Lawsuits continue to roll in at Vice Media. The latest comes from Elizabeth Rose, a former channel manager and project manager at Vice, who filed a lawsuit yesterday.

Rose worked at the company from 2014 to 2016 and alleges that the company "systematically discriminates against female employees, intentionally paying them less than their male counterparts."

Los Angeles Times reporter Daniel Miller broke the story yesterday, tweeting details about Rose's case. Her complaint alleges that a male subordinate she hired was paid $25,000 more than she was and eventually promoted to become her superior. According to the suit, a male executive told Rose "that her former subordinate was a 'good personality fit' for male clients."

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Breaking: Vice Media hit w/ pay discrimination lawsuit from former female employee. The woman, whose case seeks class action status, claims her male subordinate, whom she hired, made about $25k more per year than her. The man later became her supervisor. https://t.co/wi0X4hYkGi pic.twitter.com/vJuHkpTZv5
— Daniel Miller (@DanielNMiller) February 13, 2018

The L.A. Times also noted that Vice may face extra scrutiny due to the scope and jurisdiction of the claims. Rose's suit accuses the media company of violating equal pay laws in New York (where its headquarters are located) and California, as well as the federal Equal Pay Act. More than 700 women could be part of lawsuit if it becomes a class action suit.

Also, we looked at the California Fair Pay Act — one of three laws Vice Media is alleged to have violated. Signed into law in 2015, it is among the toughest pay equity statutes in the country, and has led to an uptick in pay discrimination lawsuits. https://t.co/wi0X4hYkGi
— Daniel Miller (@DanielNMiller) February 14, 2018

Michael Morrison, Rose's attorney at the law firm Alexander Krakow + Glick, told the L.A. Times that "not enough attention in the #MeToo movement has been drawn to pay disparities. You can't ignore that pay disparities based on gender have a profound effect on women."

The New York Times' examination of pervasive sexual misconduct and harassment at two Ford plants in Chicago is a good example of his point.

In that case, all of the women who came forward with complaints worried about the financial ramifications of standing up for themselves — and for good reason. Despite how toxic their work environment had become, the idea of leaving or being pushed out of unionised jobs that paid well and came with good benefits was enough to make them think twice about speaking out. And in many cases, their worst fears were realised.

"Their lawyers told them Ford insisted they resign as a condition of the E.E.O.C. settlement, for an additional payment. Ford lawyers later told a judge that was optional," the Times wrote. "Ms. Gray" — a Ford worker who told her union that her manager pressed his groin against her — "resisted but many of the others gave up the largest paychecks they would ever earn."

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Ford pledged to institute widespread organisational changes — and did so — until a hiring boom led to de-prioritisation of anti-harassment efforts and a "backslide" in improvements.

On Twitter, Miller re-upped Vice's pledge to achieve gender pay parity by the end of this year. Whether the company is committed to equalising pay and fighting against numerous reports of discrimination on the job at the same time remains to be seen.

On the same day NYT published its report, Vice Media co-founders Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi posted a message to https://t.co/dY5R596ZSK that acknowledged problems at the company. That statement also pledged that the company would have pay parity by the end of this year. pic.twitter.com/oglzwEzee3
— Daniel Miller (@DanielNMiller) February 13, 2018

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