Latest news with #CivilRightsActof1866
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
LA media mogul Byron Allen hires investment bank to sell television stations
In a significant retrenchment, media mogul Byron Allen has retained investment banking firm Moelis & Co. to sell his network-affiliate television stations after spending more than $1 billion to scoop up outlets in smaller markets. The Allen Media Group announced the news Monday morning. It owns nearly two dozen stations, including in Northern California near Redding, as well as Honolulu; Flint, Michigan; Madison, Wisconsin; and Tupelo, Mississippi. The company needs to pay down debt, Allen said in a statement. Allen's firm declined to provide details on its finances. The Los Angeles firm has spent big bucks during the last six years buying stations with a goal of becoming the largest independent television operator in the U.S. Many of Allen's stations have standing in their markets with programming from one of the Big Four broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. "We have received numerous inquiries and written offers for most of our television stations and now is the time to explore getting a return on this phenomenal investment," Allen, chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. "We are going to use this opportunity to take a serious look at the offers, and the sale proceeds will be used to significantly reduce our debt." Allen Media Group, which was founded by Allen in 1993, also owns a dozen television channels, including the Weather Channel. The Los Angeles entrepreneur and former stand-up comedian had been steadily expanding his empire for more than a decade. However, the television advertising market has become increasingly challenged in recent years as media buyers shift their budgets to digital platforms where they are more likely to find younger consumers. The television advertising market has become more strained with the addition of streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+ competing with legacy stations for dollars. A decade ago, Allen brought a high-profile $20 billion lawsuit against two of the nation's largest pay-TV distributors, Comcast and Charter Communications, alleging that racism was the reason his small TV channels were not being carried on those services. The case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court and was legally significant because it relied on the historic Civil Rights Act of 1866, which was enacted a year after the Civil War ended and mandated that Black citizens "shall have the same right ... to make and enforce contracts ... as is enjoyed by white citizens." But the Supreme Court struck down many of Allen's arguments. In a 9-0 decision in March 2020, the high court said it was not enough for a civil rights plaintiff to assert that his race was one of several factors that motivated a company to refuse to do business with him. Instead, the person must show race was the crucial and deciding factor. Last month, CBS picked up his show "Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen" to run at 12:35 a.m. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
L.A. media mogul Byron Allen hires investment bank to sell television stations
In a significant retrenchment, media mogul Byron Allen has retained investment banking firm Moelis & Co. to sell his network-affiliate television stations after spending more than $1 billion to scoop up outlets in smaller markets. The Allen Media Group announced the news Monday morning. It owns nearly two dozen stations, including in Northern California near Redding, as well as Honolulu; Flint, Mich.; Madison, Wis.; and Tupelo, Miss. The company needs to pay down debt, Allen said in a statement. Allen's firm declined to provide details on its finances. The Los Angeles firm has spent big bucks during the last six years buying stations with a goal of becoming the largest independent television operator in the U.S. Many of Allen's stations have standing in their markets with programming from one of the Big Four broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Read more: Byron Allen to buy seven TV stations, including Tucson outlet, for $380 million "We have received numerous inquiries and written offers for most of our television stations and now is the time to explore getting a return on this phenomenal investment," Allen, chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. "We are going to use this opportunity to take a serious look at the offers, and the sale proceeds will be used to significantly reduce our debt." Read more: Byron Allen, the comedian-turned media mogul, explains why he wants to be in the movie business Allen Media Group, which was founded by Allen in 1993, also owns a dozen television channels, including the Weather Channel. The Los Angeles entrepreneur and former stand-up comedian had been steadily expanding his empire for more than a decade. However, the television advertising market has become increasingly challenged in recent years as media buyers shift their budgets to digital platforms where they are more likely to find younger consumers. The television advertising market has become more strained with the addition of streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+ competing with legacy stations for dollars. A decade ago, Allen brought a high-profile $20-billion lawsuit against two of the nation's largest pay-TV distributors, Comcast and Charter Communications, alleging that racism was the reason his small TV channels were not being carried on those services. The case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court and was legally significant because it relied on the historic Civil Rights Act of 1866, which was enacted a year after the Civil War ended and mandated that Black citizens 'shall have the same right ... to make and enforce contracts ... as is enjoyed by white citizens.' But the Supreme Court struck down many of Allen's arguments. In a 9-0 decision in March 2020, the high court said it was not enough for a civil rights plaintiff to assert that his race was one of several factors that motivated a company to refuse to do business with him. Instead, the person must show race was the crucial and deciding factor. Last month, CBS picked up his show "Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen" to run at 12:35 a.m. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. media mogul Byron Allen hires investment bank to sell television stations
In a significant retrenchment, media mogul Byron Allen has retained investment banking firm Moelis & Co. to sell his network-affiliate television stations after spending more than $1 billion to scoop up outlets in smaller markets. The Allen Media Group announced the news Monday morning. It owns nearly two dozen stations, including in Northern California near Redding, as well as Honolulu; Flint, Mich.; Madison, Wis.; and Tupelo, Miss. The company needs to pay down debt, Allen said in a statement. Allen's firm declined to provide details on its finances. The Los Angeles firm has spent big bucks during the last six years buying stations with a goal of becoming the largest independent television operator in the U.S. Many of Allen's stations have standing in their markets with programming from one of the Big Four broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. 'We have received numerous inquiries and written offers for most of our television stations and now is the time to explore getting a return on this phenomenal investment,' Allen, chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. 'We are going to use this opportunity to take a serious look at the offers, and the sale proceeds will be used to significantly reduce our debt.' Allen Media Group, which was founded by Allen in 1993, also owns a dozen television channels, including the Weather Channel. The Los Angeles entrepreneur and former stand-up comedian had been steadily expanding his empire for more than a decade. However, the television advertising market has become increasingly challenged in recent years as media buyers shift their budgets to digital platforms where they are more likely to find younger consumers. The television advertising market has become more strained with the addition of streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+ competing with legacy stations for dollars. A decade ago, Allen brought a high-profile $20-billion lawsuit against two of the nation's largest pay-TV distributors, Comcast and Charter Communications, alleging that racism was the reason his small TV channels were not being carried on those services. The case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court and was legally significant because it relied on the historic Civil Rights Act of 1866, which was enacted a year after the Civil War ended and mandated that Black citizens 'shall have the same right ... to make and enforce contracts ... as is enjoyed by white citizens.' But the Supreme Court struck down many of Allen's arguments. In a 9-0 decision in March 2020, the high court said it was not enough for a civil rights plaintiff to assert that his race was one of several factors that motivated a company to refuse to do business with him. Instead, the person must show race was the crucial and deciding factor. Last month, CBS picked up his show 'Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen' to run at 12:35 a.m.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
FedEx employee fired for attending Alcoholics Anonymous meeting claims ‘anti-white' discrimination
A recovering alcoholic working at a FedEx facility in rural Pennsylvania claims she got fired for leaving early to attend an AA meeting, and contends her termination came about, to a significant degree, because her boss was prejudiced against white people. In a federal lawsuit filed Monday and obtained by The Independent, Margaret Fiander, 64, alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which proscribes race-based discrimination. On top of allegedly failing to accommodate her disability, Fiander's former supervisor at FedEx 'discriminated against [her] because she is Caucasian and not Hispanic,' according to her complaint, which says Latino employees were given 'preferential treatment,' while whites were 'treated… less favorably.' Reached by phone on Tuesday, Fiander told The Independent, 'This would've been settled and resolved by now, it shouldn't have gone this far. I still wanted to work, I didn't want it to get to this.' Fiander said management 'singled me out and targeted me for things that everybody else got away with.' This, she lamented, kept her from advancing professionally, and today she remains out of work. 'I had trouble getting jobs after that,' Fiander said, emphasizing that she believes her whiteness was in fact a detriment at FedEx. A FedEx spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. Fiander hired on at FedEx in December 2020, assigned to FedEx's 970,000 square-foot regional sorting center in Breinigsville, a town of 8,000 near Allentown, where she worked as a package handler, according to her complaint. 'You'll work in a fast-paced warehouse-like environment taking responsibility for tracking shipments and working safely and efficiently while sorting, processing, loading, and unloading packages,' the official job description reads. 'You may be called upon to use equipment such as hydraulic conveyor belts in your work.' Although she at one point had substance abuse issues, Fiander, who had an attorney file her initial complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission but is now representing herself in court, says she has been clean for more than two decades. 'Plaintiff is an alcoholic and has attended weekly Alcoholics Anonymous ('AA') meetings on Mondays for 21 years and has maintained sobriety for 21 years,' her complaint states. In March 2021, Fiander asked her then-manager if she could leave early on Mondays so she could make her regular meeting, the complaint continues. It says he told Fiander that doing so 'would not be an issue.' 'Thereafter, [Fiander] left at approximately 4:00 pm every Monday to attend AA meetings,' the complaint says. Fiander would always inform whatever supervisor was on duty of the arrangement, and for the next two years, 'no manager objected,' the complaint states. 'I never had documentation in writing that I could leave at 4 o'clock, but I should have,' Fiander told The Independent. 'I said, 'Should I just get this in writing?' And they said, 'No, just let them know.' It got to the point where everybody knew. I mean, common sense – you don't walk off the job without permission.' On August 7, 2023, Fiander reminded the shift manager that she would be leaving at 4 p.m. for her meeting, to which the manager replied, 'OK,' the complaint goes on. The next day, according to the complaint, Fiander received an alert on the FedEx scheduling app, informing her that all of her shifts for the rest of the week, as well as the following week, had been canceled. Confused, Fiander reached out to the HR department but wasn't able to get anyone on the phone at the time, the complaint states. However, she soon discovered that the app allowed her to reclaim at least some of the lost shifts, which the complaint says Fiander promptly did. But, on August 9, the shift manager who two days prior had given Fiander a green light to leave early called and fired her, according to the complaint. He told Fiander that she had 'violated company policy' by leaving work early on August 7, 'despite this being her long-standing accommodation that had been approved and in place for over two years,' the complaint states, calling the manager's claim 'a pretext.' In actuality, the complaint alleges, Fiander was fired 'because of her disability and/or in retaliation for requesting and utilizing a reasonable accommodation,' and asserts that her supervisors were bigoted against whites. Fiander's higher-ups 'considered [her] race in denying [her] reasonable accommodation and in terminating [her] employment,' according to the complaint. 'They wanted to get rid of me, I have no idea why,' Fiander told The Independent. 'There was somebody there that had it in for me.' So-called reverse discrimination lawsuits have become more and more common in the age of Donald Trump, and the Supreme Court may soon make it easier for members of majority groups to bring bias cases. Last month, a judge in Michigan paved the way for a terminated IBM employee to sue the company over alleged discrimination because he is a white male. In 2024, Sony settled a pending lawsuit claiming discrimination against white job applicants. On the flip side, more diverse companies tend to be more profitable than ones that are less so, according to McKinsey & Company. Further, reverse discrimination suits can also flop. A federal judge recently ruled against a white man who sued 3M after he was fired for using his cellphone on the production floor, arguing that management let slide a pair of similarly situated Black female employees for the same infraction. Similarly, a federal judge last year threw out a suit by an NYU law student who claimed the school's law review was biased against white males. Fiander is seeking a court order prohibiting FedEx from 'discriminating against employees or prospective employees based on their disability and/or need for an accommodation,' and wants back pay and future lost earnings. She is also asking for liquidated and punitive damages significant enough 'to punish [FedEx] for their willful, deliberate, malicious, and outrageous conduct and to deter… [them] from engaging in such misconduct in the future,' plus damages for emotional distress and pain and suffering to be decided by a jury, in addition to court costs and attorneys' fees.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta must face lawsuit claiming it prefers cheaper foreign workers
By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday said Meta Platforms must face a lawsuit claiming that the Facebook and Instagram parent prefers to hire foreign workers because it can pay them less than American workers. U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco said three U.S. citizens who accused Meta of refusing to hire them though they were qualified may pursue a proposed class action. The plaintiffs - information technology worker Purushothaman Rajaram and software engineer Ekta Bhatia, both naturalized U.S. citizens, and data scientist Qun Wang - said they each applied for several Meta jobs between 2020 and 2024, but were turned down because of Meta's "systematic preference" for visa holders. Meta, in a statement, said the allegations were baseless and it would continue to vigorously defend itself against them. In seeking a dismissal, the Menlo Park, California-based company said there was no proof it intended to discriminate, or would have hired the plaintiffs if they were not U.S. citizens. But the judge cited statistics that 15% of Meta's U.S. workforce holds H-1B visas, which typically go to foreign professionals, compared with 0.5% of the overall workforce. She also cited Meta's October 2021 agreement to pay up to $14.25 million, including a civil fine, to settle federal government claims it routinely refused to consider American workers for jobs it reserved for temporary visa holders. "These allegations support the plaintiffs' overall complaint that they were not hired because Meta favors H-1B visa holders," Beeler wrote. The government had sued Meta in December 2020, seven weeks before President Donald Trump ended his first White House term. "We are hopeful that the lawsuit will help remedy the favoritism towards visa workers that is common in the tech industry," Daniel Low, a lawyer for the three plaintiffs, said in an email. "Fully addressing the issue will require additional enforcement or legislative reform." Beeler had dismissed an earlier version of the lawsuit, which named only Rajaram as a plaintiff, in November 2022. A divided federal appeals court revived the case last June, saying a Civil War-era law barring discrimination in contracts based on "alienage" protected U.S. citizens from bias. Many conservative groups have cited that law, Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, in challenging diversity initiatives in the workplace, which Trump also opposes. The case is Rajaram et al v Meta Platforms Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 22-02920. Sign in to access your portfolio
