I mean, all of a sudden this poor show team had no idea and they just yanked the electricity on their anchor, Francis said. Melissa Francis, a longtime business-news reporter who has been with Fox News Media since 2012, has been off the air since early October after approaching the All Rights Reserved. Find out why. 15 minutes before the 4 p.m. The New York State Department of Labor is investigating Fox News over gender discrimination and retaliation complaints made by former host Melissa Francis, who Two months later, Francis lawyer reached out to the network with a formal request to get information on how much other anchors were making, which the network did not grant. We continue to cooperate with the Department of Labor, and we look forward to receiving the findings of their investigation.. Television journalist Melissa Francis at FOX Studios on March 18, 2015 in New York City. (Brandi continues to represent Fox News in certain contract matters.) WebListen to article. Francis alleges to have brought forth information that showed the network was not paying their female employees adequately. We parted ways with Melissa Francis over a year and a half ago and her allegations were entirely without merit. The Times reported Francis unexplained departure on Oct. 22, 2020, at which time Fox News said she remained an employee at the company. In an interview with the Post, Francis said her concerns that men were paid far more than women at Fox News were dismissed when presented to Dianne Brandi, a former top executive at the network who allegedly said, Women make less. Black Teenager Shot in Kansas City, Missouri. Im not sure we need to bring George Soros into this, said co-host Melissa Francis. In May 2017, she filed a gender discrimination and disability lawsuit against the network and settled, and left the company in March 2018. she was abruptly pulled off of both shows. Francis had been working at the network without a contract for almost a year when she was pulled from her regular slot co-hosting Outnumbered and a Fox Business Those claims in my view, 100% led to her being taken off the air without question,he told Kelly. Fox News reportedly agreed to pay former anchor Melissa Francis approximately $15 million to settle a dispute over her claims of a gender pay gap at the Kelly shifted the conversation back to Francis to discuss what happened next. Francis is a former child actress who appeared on the later seasons of Little House on the Prairie. May 26, 2015. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Kelly asked about this report but Francis lawyer said they were not allowed to comment on the subject. His coverage of the television industry has appeared in TV Guide, the New York Daily News, the New York Times, Fortune, the Hollywood Reporter, Inside.com and Adweek. Melissa Francis chronicles painful childhood. Dont say I didnt warn you.. Kevin Mintzer, Melissa Francis lawyer, declined comment on the news of the settlement, but shared with HuffPost Francis motivation behind filing the complaint. Because of the complaint internal complaint that she made and what she did to pursue that without question.. Melissa Francis has been off the air at Fox News and Fox Business since Oct. 7, and it is unclear when or even if the Outnumbered co-host will return to either network. According to Francis, she agreed to wait until the next contract negotiation in 2019. His first civics lesson? At the time, her salary was less than $1 million, and she believed it was much less than the salaries her peers were earning, she told the Post. So the lights go on. "Ms. Francis filed a charge with the New York State Department of Labor because Fox News has not changed and continues to discriminate and retaliate against women, including those who seek equal pay for equal work," Kevin Mintzer, Francis' attorney, said. With the network having recently elevated Suzanne Scott to CEO and prompted other female executives, Francis said Brandi made the following statement to her: Thats how the world works. She also recounted a conversation she had with former Fox News executive vice president for legal and business affairs Dianne Brandi in Nov. 2019. The complaint led to the downfall of Ailes, who departed the network that year and died in 2017. Have a tip or story idea? Fox News has since expanded its human resources department and made it easier for employees to file complaints. During the broadcast, the former House speaker claimed that the main reason for violence at protests is the George Soros-elected, left-wing, anti-police, pro-criminal district attorneys who refuse to keep people locked up. Melissa interjected, saying, Im not sure we need to bring George Soros into this. These changes are being made independent of any other ongoing matter., Also Read: Chris Wallace Wishes He'd Moderated THIS Debate Instead of Messy First One (Video). The employee rights attorney, who confirmed Francis no longer works for Fox, added: We are pleased that the Department is conducting an appropriate investigation in response to her charge. We have also fully cooperated with the New York State Department of Labors investigation and look forward to the completion of this matter., Kevin Mintzer, Francis attorney, says that the former Outnumbered co-host filed the labor complaint not for herself but for the women of the company who remain behind.. Let me just ask you for just for the record. What happened to Melissa Francis? Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. For a settlement this large, there would probably need to be pretty convincing evidence of an obvious and gross disparity in pay, Ari Wilkenfeld, a partner at the Atkinson Law Group in Bethesda, Md., who isn't connected to the case, told the newspaper. 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Multiple lawsuits against the network alleged that Scott helped enable former Fox News chief Roger Ailes culture of harassment. This is the power of #GeorgeSoros, Glenn Beck, the conservative radio host and conspiracy theorist, said in a tweet on Wednesday with nearly 6,000 likes, comments and retweets. The enormous pay-out, which is on par with the huge settlements that Fox News gave a number of female employees who alleged sexual misconduct from former CEO Roger Ailes and ex-star Bill OReilly, was first reported by The Washington Post on Sunday. tips@mediaite.com. Times reported Thursday that Francis, who co-hosts Fox News Outnumbered and joined Fox Business Network in 2012, recently filed a gender-based pay discrimination claim against the company. Francis was under the assumption that Brandi was no longer employed at the company and was shocked to be told that she would be conducting the meeting. Women make less. She was not put back on the air again despite her public campaign on Twitter and her messages to President Trump. At the same time, Francis continued to anchor her midafternoon Fox Business program After the Bell. We continue to cooperate with the Department of Labor, and we look forward to receiving the findings of their investigation., A network spokesperson provided the following response from Fox News Media: FOX News has always been committed to the equitable treatment of all employees which we have demonstrated consistently over our 26-year history, and we are extremely proud of our business. She filed for arbitration in early 2020. She also worked as a reporter for CNBC and CNET. Were not able to talk about that, Mintzer replied. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Former Fox News host Melissa Francis received a settlement of roughly $15 million from the network after complaining about gender-based pay discrepancies and discrimination at the conservative cable giant. Television journalist and commentator Melissa Francis at Fox Studios on March 18, 2015, in New York City. Melissa Francis, who quietly disappeared from Fox News in October 2020, received a $15-million settlement after she filed a gender-based, pay-disparity claim against the network. And then if they want me not ontomorrow, whatever it is,thats fine, she told Kelly. At the time, Fox cited program changes as the reason Francis was gone. It generated nearly 300,000 likes, comments and shares on Facebook, reaching nearly 10 million people. But Fox has steadfastly defended the network boss as having revamped the workplace. According to the report, she has been working at the networks without a contract for a year. Stirewalt will join the Chicago-based news channels Washington bureau. 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