Sinclair employees say contracts make it too costly to quit

NEW YORK — After Sinclair Broadcast drew widespread criticism for having anchors read a statement taking aim at the integrity of other U.S. media outlets, many wondered why some of the company's journalists didn't just quit.

The short answer is the cost may be too steep. According to copies of two employment contracts reviewed by Bloomberg, some Sinclair employees were subject to a liquidated damages clause for leaving before the term of their agreement was up: One that requires they pay as much as 40 percent of their annual compensation to the company.

While they were also subject to a six-month noncompete clause and forced arbitration, three current and former Sinclair employees said it was the potential financial penalty that had the greatest impact on those thinking of quitting. Under the clause, there is a specific window of time during which employees can give notice. One current employee who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly said the clause's limitations are the reason he hasn't quit. An exemployee who also requested anonymity said both the noncompete and the damages clause dissuaded her at first from looking for work elsewhere.

The company owns or operates 193 TV stations in more than 80 markets across the country and reaches an estimated 38 percent of households. It doesn’t have a TV station in Houston. This weekend, it had anchors read a script about what the conservative broadcaster's owners characterize as “false news” at other media outlets. A video montage posted over the weekend by Deadspin showed dozens of Sinclair anchors saying such “false news” is “extremely dangerous to our democracy.”

“The critics are now upset,” Scott Livingston, the vice president of news at Sinclair, wrote in a memo to employees Monday provided to Bloomberg. “There is a lot of noise out there about our company right now, and what is lacking in that analysis is something we constantly preach; context and perspective.”

The broadcaster is seeking approval from the Trump administration to buy Tribune Media Co., which would give it a presence in most U.S. households. Trump on Monday hailed Sinclair as “far superior” to NBC and CNN, which have been a constant target of the president's scorn. (The administration, meanwhile, has sued to stop AT&T’s purchase of CNN parent Time Warner.)