The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

The @GretchenCarlson Lawsuit and the Problem of the ‘Boys Club’ Atmosphere

Posted on | July 6, 2016 | 8 Comments

 

As everyone should understand, filing employment discrimination lawsuits is not something I support. If you don’t like your job, quit. It’s a free country. Nobody can force you to work for a company that treats you unfairly. You have skills, your skills have value and, if your employer does not properly appreciate the value of your work, give your notice and leave. Unless you are willing to quit on the spot — “Take this job and shove it!” — you will always be vulnerable to unfair treatment. What happens, too often, is that people become so economically dependent on their employer that they essentially forfeit this trump card. If your boss thinks you can’t afford to quit, and that you can’t find similar opportunity elsewhere, you may be treated badly because of the assumption that you have no choice but to tolerate bad treatment.

Gretchen Carlson has filed a lawsuit against Fox News CEO Roger Ailes and the specifics of these allegations are quite shocking. Her lawsuit conveys a sense of what goes on behind the scenes at FNC, and adds to an existing perception of a “boys club” atmosphere at the network. You can go back and research what happened when FNC’s Geraldo Rivera said he wanted to spit on FNC contributor Michelle Malkin. The network’s executives did not do the right thing in that case — Rivera should have been fired — and eventually, Malkin ended her association with Fox, to the network’s detriment. And this was certainly not the only previous case where women complained about the FNC “boys club” problem.

Fox News has been innovative in developing female on-camera talent, but at the same time, the network has too often tolerated off-camera behavior that should not have been tolerated. You don’t have to fire people or issue formal reprimands in order to prevent the perception that female employees are being treated unfairly. Keep in mind that I do not believe in the concept of “worker’s rights.” Your right to quit should suffice, as far as I’m concerned, to safeguard your own interests in any fee-for-service arrangement. Sometimes, greasing the squeaky wheel is the best approach to handling complaints of unfairness, but on the other hand, sometimes complainers are just complainers. Effective managers must learn to tell the difference on a case-by-case basis.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to witness at close range the ways in which claims of “discrimination” arise. In too many cases, these complaints are just a shakedown: “Pay me what I want, or I’ll sue.”

It doesn’t matter what you think of Gretchen Carlson or Roger Ailes or Fox News, this lawsuit is evidence of a managerial failure. Good managers spot personnel problems long before they reach this stage, and intervene to prevent the kind of escalation to leads to litigation. The wise employee, however, should beware of the danger of becoming so dependent on an employer that your right to quit is effectively void.

(Hat-tip: Memeorandum. More at Hot Air, Red State and MediaGazer.)





 

Category: Fox News

Comments

8 Responses to “The @GretchenCarlson Lawsuit and the Problem of the ‘Boys Club’ Atmosphere”

  1. Gunga
    July 6th, 2016 @ 12:57 pm

    I thought she was on CNN…

  2. Mike G.
    July 6th, 2016 @ 1:26 pm

    She might soon be if the money’s right, but CNN and MSNBC have their gay cliche of news casters so she might not fit in there either.

  3. Jim Christian
    July 6th, 2016 @ 1:31 pm

    She’s another one with the short skirts, maximum cleavage and attitude. If it was Joe Scarborough and Brzinski (romance, so that’s ok), it would be ok with Carlson. For dear Gretchen it’s the problem of it was the WRONG MAN scarfin’ her looks up. Meanwhile, Steve Doocy is a wimp and so, harassment, except he’s such a cuck and a wimp, maybe the fact of his NOT hitting on her got her pissed off. Either way, sexual harassment complaints mean less than nothing to me, they’re merely a payout to the feminist imperative. If she didn’t like being shut up, maybe she’s not all the talent she thought. Doocy has been around a long time, and maybe, just maybe Carlson had become such an annoying ballbuster, no one wanted her around anymore. Being shunned is being shunned, not sexual. Other thing is, look how OLD she’s gotten. She’s at the end of the line, no one was hiring her for those ez-morning show dollars she used to get and so:harassment suit. Who even knew she was off the air, does anyone even watch Fox News anymore? Ailes should have written a check and gotten rid of her, he should have known she would go to the courtroom waterwell. When it comes to women at the end of the line in broadcasting, that train is never late. So, stop hiring them. No one watches the news for the women and their airhead thoughts, that’s for sure.

  4. Steve Skubinna
    July 6th, 2016 @ 1:35 pm

    No, you’re thinking of that other one.

  5. rambler
    July 6th, 2016 @ 1:38 pm

    Exactly! 2 ways to deal with that boys club mindset. Move on or give it right back. Many knew that if they placed a finger on me, they wouldn’t get their hand back in the same condition.

  6. fatty
    July 6th, 2016 @ 4:34 pm

    Fox has blown for a while now. I hope she takes them to the cleaners.

  7. Art Deco
    July 7th, 2016 @ 4:28 pm

    Employment discrimination law is a violation of freedom of contract and has proved metastatic, so should go.

    That having been said, conduct in workplaces that is analogous to conduct you see proscribed in the penal code is properly regarded as a tort, as is attempting to extort someone’s co-operation in schemes which are unlawful, tortious, or licentious.

    Not really seeing what her complaint about Doocy was. If her characterization is true, he sounds somewhat unprofessional, but that’s not a cause of action.

  8. Art Deco
    July 7th, 2016 @ 4:30 pm

    this lawsuit is evidence of a managerial failure. Good managers spot
    personnel problems long before they reach this stage, and intervene to
    prevent the kind of escalation to leads to litigation.

    Who would have intervened? The accused is the head honcho.