Fox News Under Investigation Over Ex-Host Melissa Francis’ Retaliation and Gender Discrimination Claims

The New York State Department of Labor has been investigating Fox News over ex-host Melissa Francis’ claims of retaliation and gender discrimination, reported The Daily Beast on Wednesday night.

The report was written by contributing reporter and former Fox News reporter Diana Falzone and media reporter Justin Baragona. Falzone settled with Fox News in 2018 over her own gender discrimination suit.

Francis left Fox News last year.

Kevin Mintzer, Francis’ lawyer, told The Daily Beast, “Ms. Francis filed a charge with the New York State Department of Labor because Fox News has not changed and continues to discriminate and retaliate against women, including those who seek equal pay for equal work.”

The New York State Department of Labor declined to comment. Fox News did not comment on the suit itself, but said, “We parted ways with Melissa Francis nearly a year ago.”

Additionally, according to Falzone and Baragona:

The news that New York’s labor department is investigating Fox News comes just a few months after the network settled with New York City’s Commission on Human Rights for $1 million over what the government deemed “a pattern of violating the NYC Human Rights Law.” The settlement represented an effective admission to retaliating against staffers over sexual misconduct and discrimination claims. (The commission began its investigation in July 2016 after [Roger] Ailes was fired over multiple sexual misconduct allegations including former Fox host Gretchen Carlson’s damning lawsuit. A formal complaint was filed by the commission in December 2018.)

Besides requiring Fox News to remove confidential arbitration clauses from the contracts of on-air talent amid outside legal claims, the media empire’s settlement agreement “also demands immediate changes to policies surrounding reporting sexual harassment, retaliation, training, and compliance.”