Byrd is suing CNN, TBS and parent company Time Warner for racial discrimination. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
A new lawsuit alleges cable giants CNN and TBS make Black employees work nearly three times as hard just to earn a promotion.
In a complaint filed this week, former TBS worker Wanda Byrd alleged she was passed up for a senior-level position while a lesser-skilled white employee was given the job instead. Byrd now is suing both networks and parent company Time Warner, Inc for discrimination.
Documents obtained by TMZ showed that African-American workers at TBS are promoted at a much lower rate than their white counterparts, and that no non-white employee has ever made it to a senior VP position or higher. Moreover, Byrd accused the corporation of segregating its workers, saying most of the Black employees were remanded to divisions she deemed “less-powerful and non-revenue generating.”
But that’s not all. There’s also a significant difference in pay between Black and white workers, Byrd alleges in her lawsuit. She added that Black workers have to work much harder and longer to get any type of promotion.
According to TMZ, the 13-year TBS veteran has plans to parlay this into a class-action suit against the companies.
The second time both CNN and Time Warner have been accused of discrimination. A federal federal judge dismissed a separate class-action lawsuit against the companies back in July.
Neither network has yet commented on the complaint.