‘criminal Minds’ Producers To Pay $3 Million Settlement In Sexual Harassment Case: The California Civil Rights Department filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC Signature alleging sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of the CBS police drama “Criminal Minds,” one of television’s most enduring series. ABC Signature has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve the matter.
According to the department’s lawsuit, which was filed in May 2020, Gregory St. Johns, the series director of photography, “used his position of power to create an unchecked hostile work environment in which he subjected production crew members to frequent sexual harassment, including touching and caressing numerous employees,” over a 14-year period.
In a statement last week, the CRD stated that ABC Signature would also update and publish procedures for all shows produced by the unit and take additional measures to ensure there are no unresolved complaints of harassment and retaliation on site. Additionally, the business will provide the department with an annual compliance report.
According to a statement by CRD Director Kevin Kish, “Crew members bravely came out to claim their right to create a living free from sexual harassment.” “Companies must address valid accusations of harassment and retaliation and take action against harassers,” according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Requests for a response from a representative of ABC Signature were not immediately answered.
Walt Disney Co., ABC Signature Studios Inc., CBS Studios Inc., St. Johns, and members of the television series’ executive production team were named as defendants in the lawsuit.
St. Johns, according to the lawsuit, “doted on particular guys and treated them more favorably, so long as they acquiesced to his attention. He retaliated against individuals who resisted in the ways that are typical for him, such as by giving them silent treatment, social exclusion, unjust criticism, public humiliation, and finally firing.
According to a statement from the state agency, the lawsuit also alleges that the executive production team fired “over a dozen men who rejected St. John’s harassment” because they were aware of and approved of St. John’s alleged behavior.
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