Weinstein Co faces civil rights inquiry in New York
NEW York Attorney General Eric T Schneiderman has opened an inquiry into The Weinstein Co examining whether allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment against its co-founder Harvey Weinstein reflect broad gender discrimination and other civil rights violations.
“No New Yorker should be forced to walk into a workplace ruled by sexual intimidation, harassment or fear,” Schneiderman said in a statement on Monday. “If sexual harassment or discrimination is pervasive at a company, we want to know.”
On Monday, the attorney general’s Civil Rights Bureau sent a subpoena to the company seeking a long list of documents, including personnel files; criteria for hiring, promoting and firing; formal and informal complaints of sexual harassment or other discrimination based on gender or age; and records showing how such complaints were handled, according to a person who has seen the confidential subpoena and who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The office is also seeking documents and communications related to out-of-court settlements struck with accusers, the person said.
The civil investigation places heightened scrutiny on an already reeling entertainment company. The inquiry will also examine whether the company itself bears financial responsibility for any misconduct.
The New York Times reported this month that Weinstein had faced allegations of sexual harassment, unwanted touching and other inappropriate behaviour toward employees and actresses stretching back de- cades. It also found that he had made payments to at least eight women who accused him of sexual harassment, unwanted touching and other inappropriate behaviour in exchange for their silence, but it was unclear where the money came from and whether people in the company were involved.
David Boies, a lawyer who has represented Weinstein as well as the company, has said the company and its board were aware of as many as four payouts to women. Lance Maerov, a board member, said he was told of only one settlement with a woman who complained of misconduct. Weinstein’s brother, Bob Weinstein, another co-founder, has declined to answer questions about the issue. The Weinstein Co did not return requests for comment on Monday.
In addition to the civil case, Harvey Weinstein has come under criminal investigation by police in New York, Los Angeles and London for allegations of sexual assault in those three jurisdictions. The New Yorker documented some assault cases, including allegations of rape, and in recent weeks other women have come forward with claims of assault and misconduct by Weinstein over more than three decades.
The Weinstein Co fired him after the Times coverage and the upheaval that followed. The majority of its nine-member board has resigned. Bob Weinstein is scrambling to save the company while negotiating possible sales of some or all of the production studio. And employees are calling for the company to release them from their nondisclosure agreements so they can openly discuss what it was like to work there.
Civil investigations of this kind can prove costly for companies. Those found in violation of civil rights laws can face fines and other financial penalties. In 2015, ConEd was required to pay $3.8 million to hundreds of female employees after an investigation by the attorney general and federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found violations of sexual discrimination and harassment dating back nearly a decade.