Meredith Settles Discrimination Lawsuit
/It appears that Meredith is headed off a court battle with a former Anchor that was suing them.
Former KCTV Kansas City Anchor Karen Fuller has settled her age and discrimination lawsuit against the station and owner Meredith.
The settlement was reached just before the case was set to go to trial in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas, next month.
A court filing on Monday said attorneys for the parties had “settled and compromised the claims in this lawsuit” and that the case was being terminated.
Terms of the settlement were of course confidential.
Meredith and Fuller did not respond to requests for comment.
Fuller, now an anchor for the CBS affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, filed her lawsuit two-and-a-half years ago. She alleged that Meredith had created an “age ceiling” for its female anchors but not for its male anchors.
Fuller was a news anchor at KCTV from 2003 to 2015, when she was abruptly let go. She was 47 at the time.
According to her lawsuit, the average age of female anchors at Meredith's 17 TV stations across the country is 40; the average age of its male anchors is 51.
KCTV claimed Fuller was terminated because of poor on-air and off-air performance, even though her contract had been renewed numerous times and her performance appraisals had been positive.
Meredith is not yet done with lawsuits though.
The company is facing at least two other age discrimination lawsuits, both in Nashville.
One was brought by a longtime and popular Anchor Demetria Kalodimos who worked for Meredith’s WSMV for 33 years before she was fired two years ago.
She was 58 at the time.
H/T KCUR