Former Fox News host Melissa Francis received a settlement of roughly $15 million from the network after complaining about gender-based pay discrepancies and discrimination at the conservative cable giant.
The enormous pay-out, which is on par with the huge settlements that Fox News gave a number of female employees who alleged sexual misconduct from former CEO Roger Ailes and ex-star Bill O’Reilly, was first reported by The Washington Post on Sunday.
The revelation about Francis’ settlement amount comes just months after The Daily Beast first reported that she had filed a complaint with the New York State Department of Labor, claiming that Fox News retaliated against her for pointing out the pay disparity.
While neither Francis nor her attorney Kevin Mintzer would comment on the settlement amount, Mintzer did provide a statement on Francis’ complaint with the labor department.
“Melissa filed her charge with the Department of Labor not for herself but for the women of the company who are still there,” Mintzer told The Daily Beast. “Contrary to Fox News’ false claims about a ‘new era,’ what happened to Melissa shows that sexism and retaliation are still prevalent at the network. We continue to cooperate with the Department of Labor, and we look forward to receiving the findings of their investigation.”
A network spokesperson provided the following response from Fox News Media: “FOX News has always been committed to the equitable treatment of all employees which we have...
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