CBS Radio Slapped With Racial Discrimination Lawsuit by Ex-Employee Who Says She Was Called a ‘Bitch’

Complaint alleges that former employee suffered “racial discrimination, gender discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment”

CBS logo
CBS

CBS has been hit with a lawsuit filed by a former employee who claims that she suffered “racial discrimination, gender discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment.”

In her lawsuit, filed against CBS Radio Services, CBS Corporation and others in federal court in New York on Tuesday, Makeda Alexander says that she was hired as an account services manager in September 2014, and that she was “a stellar employee” who was “continuously praised” for her hard work.

Nonetheless, the complaint alleges, “immediately upon beginning her job,” Alexander was “subjected to a hostile work environment.”

One employee, the lawsuit says, would bang his hands on his desk and exclaim “B—-!” on “an almost daily basis” and repeatedly pounded his desk while screaming “Shizzle my Nizzle!” at Alexander.

“Plaintiff was hurt by the purposely mean-spirited taunt,” the lawsuit reads.

Alexander also alleges that employees would walk by her desk and yell, “Yeah, son!” multiple times a day.

“Plaintiff knew that Defendants’ constant use of slang was directed at her because of her race,” the lawsuit reads.

The suit further alleges that Alexander was repeatedly referred to as “Obama” in an effort to “intimidate, harass and taunt Plaintiff because of Plaintiff’s race.”

One particularly lurid passage in the lawsuit alleges that an employee announced that he had received a massage and that “rub-n-tugs” were the best.

Alexander said that she complained to supervisors twice, but that no “reasonable or immediate action” was taken.

According to the suit, Alexander was fired in November 2016 in retaliation, on the pretense of her being tardy and forgetting to respond to an email,” even though other employees had been tardy and frequently failed to respond to emails, without being terminated.

“As a result of Defendants’ actions, Plaintiff felt extremely humiliated, degraded, victimized, embarrassed and emotionally distressed”

The suit also says that Alexander has suffered from physical ailments because of the alleged treatment of her.

CBS Radio told TheWrap on Tuesday, “This claim is without merit.”

The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

Comments