Judge Puts Former Pittsburgh Anchor's Lawsuit On Hold
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Former WTAE Anchor Wendy Bell got some bad news yesterday, in her lawsuit against her old station.
Bell was fired after a racist posting to Facebook about a shooting in Pittsburgh. Bell sued the station saying she would not have been fired if she were black.
Yesterday, a federal judge placed a temporary stay on Bell's race discrimination until she files an amended complaint next month that includes a promised gender claim.
WTAE owner Hearst maintains that WTAE fired Bell not because of her race but because she made "racially charged commentary in a post on WTAE's company-sponsored Facebook page" that was "inconsistent with the company's ethics and journalistic standards."
In Bell's complaint she had filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, however, she also had indicated she was fired because she's a woman, but said nothing about her race. She and her lawyer said she would add that claim to the lawsuit but never did.
Hearst's lawyers asked the judge to make her do that now so they can prepare a defense, and both sides agreed.
The judge ordered the station to produce records of anyone who had filed an EEOC claim in the 10 years prior to Bell's termination. Bee's lawyer had asked for records dating back 19 years but the station said that would be too burdensome.
The judge also granted Bell's lawyer's request that the station produce personnel files for Andrew Stockey and Guy Junker.
After her firing Bell through both Stockey and Junker under the bus.
The judge also ordered Bell to produce tax records concerning her earnings since she was fired.
