An ex-employee of TBS is suing the network as well as CNN for racial discrimination against black employees.
Wanda Byrd, a black woman, worked as “a mid-level manager in quality assurance” for 13 years at TBS, according to TMZ. Byrd says that she was passed up for a senior level position by the company in favor of a white man, who she says was less qualified for the job. She also says that the company “segregates” by keeping most black employees working in certain divisions she deems as “less powerful and non-revenue generating.”
Byrd also notes that because of the company’s climate, black workers have to work “three times” as long as white workers in order to get a promotion of any sort. According to legal documents obtained by the site, a person of color has never held a senior VP title or higher at TBS.
Unfortunately, this issue is not a new one. In 2016, Celeslie Henley and Ernest Colbert Jr. sued CNN, Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner for racial discrimination.
“The current workplace culture utilizes practices that discourages or prohibit minorities from exercising their rights under employment discrimination statutes,” they alleged.
Additionally, Byrd is adding CNN and the networks’ parent company Time Warner in the lawsuit- She reportedly has not worked for either. TBS nor CNN have commented on the lawsuit.