CBS Denies Discrimination Allegations Made By Ex-Producer

Erin Gee

UPDATE 11/27/17 12n:  "Ms. Gee is a former employee who voluntarily resigned from CBS to pursue another opportunity. Her allegations are wholly without merit, including those directed toward Mr. Klug, and CBS will vigorously defend itself. Contrary to those allegations, Ms. Gee was treated in a non-discriminatory and non-retaliatory manner, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has previously dismissed her claims. CBS is firmly committed to equal employment opportunities and maintaining a positive work environment for all of its employees," a CBS News spokesperson told Fox News.

Earlier Posting...

A week after CBS host Charlie Rose was outed as an alleged serial sex harasser, one of the network’s former producers says she was told by a boss that she would have to sleep with coworkers to get anywhere in the company.

“I was in a state of shock,” said Erin Gee, 44, who worked for CBS for 17 years and recently filed a Manhattan federal suit alleging rampant sex discrimination at the network.

Gee said one of the most offensive incidents occurred in 2011, when she was talking with her boss at “CBS Evening News,” Robert Klug, about a workplace dispute.

Klug, now 58, said “she should ‘have sex’ with [the] video editor who had been difficult to work with to ‘break the ice,’ ” according to court papers.

“I couldn’t believe that was his advice,” Gee said. “I was looking for help, and he looked at me like, ‘You don’t matter, and this is what you should do to make this guy like you.’ ”

Rob Klug

Gee reported the incident to a senior producer on the program, “who told her at the time that he let the executive producer know about it,’’ said her lawyer, Kevin Mintzer. “But nothing was done.’’

Klug was eventually promoted to executive director for CBS News.

Fed up with the network’s “boys’ club,” Gee filed a formal complaint with CBS in 2015, again reporting Klug’s comments, as well as other instances of alleged sexism.

“All I wanted was the same opportunities that were being given to the men. In my nearly 20 years at CBS, I never saw a female director direct the evening news,” she said.

But after she filed the complaint, Gee was demoted to the weekend newscast, according to court papers. She was told she was being disciplined for “behavioral problems,” but Gee says was never alerted to any issues. She eventually quit and took another job in the industry.