By Larry Neumeister
NEW YORK (AP) --Five female anchors will no longer work at a New York news channel as part of the settlement of an age and gender discrimination lawsuit alleging they were passed over in favor of younger talent, according to statements from the women, their lawyers and the channel.
The women who sued in Manhattan federal court in June 2019 include Roma Torre, a Montclair, New Jersey, resident in her early 60s who was NY1's first on-air hire when it began its programs in 1992.
The settlement of the lawsuit was announced by the women, their lawyers and by NY1. Its terms were not disclosed.
It came a month after a judge allowed some age and gender discrimination claims to proceed but rejected some hostile work environment and retaliation claims.
In their lawsuit, the women, all over age 40, alleged that they were marginalized and cast aside to make room for younger women and men after Charter Communications, a Stamford, Connecticut-based company, took over the local news channel in 2016.
The lawsuit had sought unspecified damages and a return to the positions the women occupied before Charter took control.
According to the lawsuit, the women found their on-air time dramatically reduced, anchoring opportunities decreased, prime reporting opportunities taken away and promotional efforts mostly eliminated.
"We are pleased to announce we have reached a confidential resolution of the lawsuit filed by Roma Torre, Kristen Shaughnessy, Jeanine Ramirez, Vivian Lee and Amanda Farinacci and as a result, have mutually agreed to part ways," NY1 said in its statement.
"We want to thank them for their years of dedicated service in reporting the news for New Yorkers and we wish them well in their future endeavors," it added.
In a statement, the women said they were pleased to reach the settlement "after engaging in a lengthy dialogue with NY1."
"We believe it is in everyone's interest — ours, NY1's and our viewers — that this litigation be resolved and we have mutually agreed to part ways," the statement said. "We want to thank everyone who has supported us through these times – please know that the support from each and every person has made a real difference."
Their attorneys, Douglas Wigdor and David Gottlieb, thanked their clients' viewers who "tuned in to watch them fairly and accurately report the news for so many years."
Federal judge orders Google to open its Android app store to competition
A federal judge on Monday ordered Google to tear down the digital walls shielding its Android app store from competition as a punishment for maintaining an illegal monopoly that helped expand the company's internet empire.
The injunction issued by U.S. District Judge James Donato will require Google to make several changes that the Mountain View, California, company had been resisting, including a provision that will require its Play Store for Android apps to distribute rival third-party app stores so consumers can download them to their phones if they so desire.
The judge's order will also make the millions of Android apps in the Play Store library accessible to rivals, allowing them to offer up a competitive selection.
Donato is giving Google until November to make the revisions dictated in his order. The company had insisted it would take 12 to 16 months to design the safeguards needed to reduce the chances of potentially malicious software making its way into rival Android app stores and infecting millions of Samsung phones and other mobile devices running on its free Android software.
The court-mandated overhaul is meant to prevent Google from walling off competition in the Android app market as part of an effort to protect a commission system that has been a boon for one of the world's most prosperous companies and helped elevate the market value of its corporate parent Alphabet Inc. to $2 trillion.
Google said in a blog post that it will ask the court to pause the pending changes, and will appeal the court's decision.
Donato also ruled that, for a period three years ending Nov. 1, 2027, Google won't be able to share revenue from its Play Store with anyone who distributes Android apps or is considering launching an... Read More