Moonves fighting to keep $120 million severance
NEW YORK — Former CBS CEO Les Moonves is fighting the company’s decision to deny his $120 million severance package following his firing over sexual misconduct allegations.
Moonves is demanding binding arbitration proceedings to challenge the decision, CBS announced in a filing Thursday with the Security Exchange Commission.
The company’s board of directors denied Moonves his severance last month after concluding that he violated company policy and did not cooperate with an investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations.
Moonves, one of television’s most influential figures, was ousted in September after allegations from women who said he subjected them to mistreatment including forced oral sex, groping and retaliation if they resisted.
The former CEO’s legal team declined to comment Thursday. His lawyer, Andrew Levander, has previously said that Moonves cooperated fully with the investigation, which was conducted by two outside law firms. Moonves has also denied any allegations of non-consensual sex.
Moonves, who had earned praise for turning around the fortunes of CBS when he took over as entertainment chief in 1995, had been one of the highest-paid executives in the nation, making about $70 million in each of the past two years.