https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-wtnh-graziano-lawsuit-1114-story.html
Human Resources Manager Sues Nexstar GM Richard Graziano for discrimination.
Human Resources Manager Sues Nexstar GM Richard Graziano for discrimination.
The former human resources manager at WTNH-TV, Ch. 8 in New Haven, has sued the station and its parent company, Nexstar Media Group, claiming gender and age discrimination and alleging that the station’s general manager made “sexist comments regarding young females.”
In her federal lawsuit filed Monday, Rachel Mastriano of Guilford says she filed complaints with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year and was recently cleared to file the lawsuit.
In the suit, she claims she received exemplary reviews for her work until Richard Graziano arrived as general manager in January 2017.
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“From the outset of Mr. Graziano’s employment, plaintiff noted sexist and inappropriate comments that he made regarding young female employees,” the lawsuit reads. “On one occasion, he suggested that they should put one of our young female anchors on Facebook in a bikini. He made other sexist comments regarding young females including descriptions of their body parts. He was focused on the appearance of the young female anchors at WTNH and he regularly made personal comments about them.”
Graziano and Nexstar did not respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit says Mastriano, who began working at WTNH in 2010, was promoted to human resources manager in 2015. Mastriano claims that although she received good reviews for her work from previous general managers, Graziano was “rude and made demeaning remarks” to her. He did not treat male department heads that way, the lawsuit claims.
During his first few months running the station, the lawsuit alleges, Graziano removed three women over the age of 40 from their jobs — the program manager, the director of community affairs and the producer of WTNH’s “Style” show — the lawsuit states.
Mastriano also alleges that Graziano chastised her for attending media day at the Travelers Championship, something she had done in the past, and fired her after she requested Red Sox tickets from an advertiser, something she claims was common practice.
“As part of the culture in media, advertisers regularly provide tickets to various events for employees and clients to use,” the lawsuit reads. “This was treated as a benefit of working at a TV station like WTNH. For the seven years of plaintiff’s employment, she was told by defendant’s management that this was accepted as an industry practice.”