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WOIO Channel 19 and General Manager William Applegate are being sued by an advertising employee who alleges he was retaliated against for complaining about a sexually hostile work environment.
(Lynn Ischay, The Plain Dealer)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A lawsuit filed last week against WOIO-Channel 19 and its parent company accuses the local station of creating a sexually hostile work environment and retaliating against an advertisement sales employee who complained about it to station managers.
The complaint, filed by Kevin Flanigan II, of Avon, also alleges the station encouraged the use of sexual favors and sexually explicit tactics to entice advertising clients and that drug use and alcohol use at advertising-related events was common. (To see the fill complaint, click here or read in document viewer below.)
Flanigan is asking that the station pay him for lost sales commissions and other economic and emotional damages.
William Applegate, vice president and general manager at WOIO, said while the station would not normally comment on pending lawsuits that "the numerous offensive and erroneous allegations contained in this suit compels us to strongly deny them on behalf of the station and particularly our employees, viewers and clients."
"And yes, we certainly do intend to defend ourselves vigorously," Applegate said in an email to The Plain Dealer.
Applegate is named individually in the suit in addition to the parent company Raycom Media Inc. and a station executive.
According to the lawsuit, Applegate first had another manager investigate Flanigan's complaints and later brought in a manager from another station to review the allegations. After both investigations, according to the lawsuit, Flanigan was told his complaints lacked merit.
Attorney Andrew Kabat, who filed the lawsuit on Flaginan's behalf, declined to comment on the complaint. He said the case would be fought in court, not in the media.
The first part of the complaint, filed Friday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, details allegations against a sales manager for WOIO and its sister station WUAB Channel 43.
According to the lawsuit, the manager hired Flanigan in 2007, telling him she was "taking a risk" because men didn't normally perform as well as women.
Flanigan said that despite being among the top performers in the department, he was pressured to engage in inappropriate sexual contact with other employees and clients and the use of drugs at corporate events involving clients.
According to the lawsuit, the drug use and sexual favors were common and encouraged to "foster new business relationships."
Flanigan's lawsuit cites several alleged instances of sexual favors, including one party on the boat of a corporate advertising client during which female employees of the station wore bathing suits and drank alcohol.
The lawsuit also alleges the manager often became drunk, acted inappropriately or passed out during or after events. During an "Opening Day" party a the suit doesn't give a date a the manager removed some of her clothes and flashed people outside a bar.
According to the suit, Flanigan feared he would be fired but complained to management after the manager's conduct cost him approximately $300,000 in advertising revenue after a client terminated business with the station due to the manager's behavior at a meeting to discuss a commercial shoot.
Other issues arose, the suit says, after corporate clients complained about her conduct at concerts and sporting events.
Flanigan said after he complained about the manager, she tried to fire him and the station then conducted multiple investigations into his allegations, which resulted in his being told to work from home and later to report to a new supervisor.
According to the suit, since returning to work Flanigan has been ostracized, bullied and intimidated, which has resulted in distress and the loss of potential commissions on advertising sales.