Live Nation has been sued for race and gender discrimination by furloughed executive Candace Newman, Variety reports and documents viewed by Pitchfork confirm. Newman alleged that she faced retaliation in a “toxic work environment” for complaining about workplace discrimination and cited a larger culture of retaliation against other employees who do the same.
The lawsuit, filed yesterday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, opens by alleging that the case “epitomizes the issue at the heart of the Black Lives Matter movement—systemic racism.” The lawsuit argues that Newman was “scrutinized and criticized far more harshly than her non-Black and/or male peers,” which led her to make a complaint of discrimination. The company cited cuts surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for Newman’s layoff, the suit claims.
Among other assertions made in the lawsuit, the lawsuit says that in or around 2015, Newman started a women’s diversity resource group within the company called Empower Network. After its first few months of existence, she was asked by a white executive to dismantle the group. She says she was told that only VP-level executives were allowed to start such groups “despite the lack of representation of employees of color in those positions.”
In addition to race and gender discrimination, Newman is suing for retaliation, wrongful termination, unpaid overtime, inaccurate paystubs, and an equal pay violation. She’s seeking compensatory and punitive damages, plus an injunction to stop the company from further discriminatory and retaliatory practices. Find the full lawsuit below.
“We were surprised by Ms. Newman’s claim of wrongful termination, as she is still an employee at Live Nation,” Live Nation said in a statement. “With concerts on pause due to the pandemic we unfortunately had to implement furloughs across our company, most heavily impacting our concerts division, but our furloughed staff are still valued employees, receiving healthcare and other benefits. We cannot comment on specifics of the lawsuit while in active litigation, however, we would like to be clear that any allegations of bias and discrimination in Ms. Newman’s claims are completely unfounded. Live Nation is fully committed to being an anti-racist and equitable organization and we continuously strive to foster an environment where employees feel comfortable and empowered.”