Do You Have Harassment Issues in Your Company?
The New York Times broke the story on October 5th about Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment of actresses. That led to a criminal investigation, and now the whole company has come under the scrutiny of a civil investigation.
On October 23, The New York Times reported that New York Attorney General, Eric T. Schneiderman opened an investigation into the Weinstein Company by sending a subpoena that requested documents such as personnel files, criteria for firing, termination and promotion, and filed with the company regarding sexual harassment, gender or age discrimination. In addition, the subpoena sought information as to how complaints were handled and any private out-of-court settlements reached.
Company Financial Liability
Whether the company is financially responsible for any of Harvey Weinstein’s misconduct is also subject to the investigation. Of the payments made by Harvey Weinstein in confidential settlements, the investigation seeks to discover whether other company people were involved and whether the payments came from the company or were personally paid by Weinstein.
The Weinstein Company fired Harvey Weinstein several days after the October 5th news story broke in The New York Times. More than half of the nine company board members have resigned. Harvey’s brother Bob Weinstein, co-founder of the company, is involved in sales negotiations to sell either part of or the whole production studio.
In addition, many employees have requested release from nondisclosure agreements so they are free to discuss their experiences at the company.
Do Not Bury Your Head in the Sand
With the power he wielded, movie producer Harvey Weinstein appeared to be untouchable. He won Oscars and was an entertainment industry icon. While the harassment incidents spanned for decades, all it took for his reputation to plummet and his livelihood to end was actresses coming forward and one newspaper article in an age where information goes viral.
If anyone in authority at the company had had the courage to stand up to him years ago and deal with the harassment issues, perhaps the company could have been saved.
Do You Have Harassment Issues in Your Company?
Our attorneys at Stephen Hans & Associates can help you address your concerns. We provide seasoned legal advice based on more than 20 years of defending employers in employment issues.