KYLE Hunter is a weather forecaster and broadcaster for over 23 years, who won several prestigious awards. He sued CBS Broadcasting, Inc. for discrimination, alleging that two of CBS’ television stations (KCAL and KCBS) repeatedly refused to hire him as a weather news anchor because of his gender and age, even though he had more experience and better qualifications. Hunter alleged that in 2010, KCBS chose not to renew the contract of its weather anchor Johnny Mountain, which was “part of [a] plan to turn prime time weather broadcasting over to younger attractive females.” Hunter expressed interest in filling the vacancy. However, KCBS decided to hire Jackie Johnson, a “young attractive female” who had previously served as the weather anchor on KCAL’s prime time newscast.
Hunter then told KCAL that he would like to be considered for Johnson’s former anchor position. KCAL, however, began “quietly interviewing . . . . young, attractive females to [replace Johnson]” and told Hunter “there was not ‘an opening for [him] now.’” In May of 2010, KCAL posted a “sham” notice regarding its weather anchor position. At the time it posted the notice, KCAL had already hired “an attractive younger female” named Evelyn Taft, “whose age and gender were key considerations in the hiring decision.” When Hunter learned about Taft’s hiring, he contacted the station manager and was told that he had not been considered for the position because KCAL “‘catered to . . . male viewers’” and that Hunter “wouldn’t be the type men would want to look at.”
Hunter’s lawsuit claim that CBS’s gender and age based policies and resulting decisions violated the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). These policies include 1) filling vacant prime time on air weather broadcast positions with attractive females, and refusing to hire males to permanently fill those positions, and 2) filling vacant prime time on air weather broadcast positions with individuals under the age of 40, and refusing to hire individuals over 40 to permanently fill those positions.
CBS asked the trial court to strike the complaint, arguing that its selection of a newscaster qualified as free speech and Hunter cannot sue CBS for exercising its free speech rights. Hunter countered that CBS’s actions had nothing to do with free speech, but instead was a “hiring policy” that banned the hiring of males for these positions, and hence, was employment discrimination.
The Court of Appeal sided with CBS and held that a station’s selection of news anchors, even if they’re just reporting the weather, qualifies as a form of free speech, and thus, is protected activity under the law. The court noted previous cases that have recognized that news reporting and creating a TV show are both exercises of free speech. CBS’ selections of weather anchors “were essentially casting decisions regarding who was to report the news on a local television newscast.”
However, even though CBS engaged in free speech, the question remains whether CBS’ conduct is still discriminatory. The Court of Appeal remanded the case to the trial court to decide this issue.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is trial attorney who has obtained several million dollar recoveries for his clients against employers and insurance companies. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.