July 9, 2008
Former KNTV Reporter Traci Grant Sues NBC for Discrimination
Former NBC 11 on-air talent Traci Grant is suing NBC Universal, Inc., as well as NBC 11 assistant news director Mark Neerman, for punitive damages on counts of disability discrimination, failure to accommodate disability, and harassment on the basis of disability. Why? Well, according to Grant's suit, NBC allegedly let her go because of her epilepsy. (Grant suffered from two epileptic seizures between July and October 2007 while working for NBC 11.)
The "36-year-old African American Female" claims that the the Defendants perceived her as mentally disabled when they made the decision not to renew her contract for 2008. According to the suit, Grant met with the Neerman and Human Resource Manager, Judy Betro, and was reportedly told,"you have been sick and because you have had to take a number of sick days and because you have seizures at work, we find you unreliable to do this job." While she was given the opportunity to do another job, the suit goes on to say, that job would've been a demotion, effectively cut her paycheck in half.
Also, in an email Betro sent to Grant, the former reporter was asked "are there better jobs for which you qualify that can better address your limitations or restrictions?" Ouch.
Also, what if you saw a reporter experience a seizure while live on-air? Obviously, it would freak you out, but then what -- would you be upset? compassionate? pissed that the station let it happen? fine with it? too uncomfortable to ever watch NBC 11 again? would you send a nice letter of support, or heartlessly make it into your LJ icon?
Anwyay, we're sad to see her go. But not for long, we're sire. Grant, a reporter we've enjoyed since she started with NBC11-KNTV in 2002, has been a fan of the local, incetuous blog world, and even interviewed SFist James earlier this year regarding his Muni Hot or Not of the Now posts.
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Remember that season when Al Sharpton made regular appearances on Boston Legal? They'd call him in and he'd shout at the jury:
"Give us an African-American Spider Man! Give us a black that can run faster than a speeding bullet and leap over tall buildings in a single bound! Give the American people a black Orphan Annie."
Give us a black epileptic anchorwoman, NBC!
Wow. I hope she gets whatever monetary compensation she's asking for and this lets other employers know they can't discriminate against epileptics.
My best friend is epileptic and I've been with her several times when she has seized. Not all seizures are grand mal (tonic-clonic) and every epileptic seizes differently. My friend for instance seizes in the part of her brain that controls speech so she can't communicate when it's happening. On the rare occasion she's gone grand or, as she puts it, "flipping for Jesus" (she has a dark sense of humor), I've kept a level head, called 911 and done the things I needed to do, which has varied over the years depending on her medication.
I think a reporter seizing on air would raise awareness of the medical condition and it would inform the viewers as to what they should do if someone should have a seizure around them. Besides, I doubt a show would just keep filming the reporter seizing and not cut to commercial.
NBC 11 is really getting a bad rap. Not just that their news bureau is terrible, but that we all remember Terilyn Joe for throwing veggies out her window at a guy on a tall ladder trimming a tree.
you had a problem with tjoe getting fired?
Whatever happened to Terilyn Joe?
Joe as a sultry image on IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0423562/
Tough call on this one... Her job is to appear in public. Unless she's flipping for jesus in a very dramatic way, not sure if that's going to attract viewers.
But I do feel for epileptics, having seen a seizure or two and having a good friend's sister be one. It's tough, potentially embarrasing, etc.
But you wouldn't want one flying a plane, now, would you? Not that newscasting is the same as flying a plane, but there's a certain expectation that they'll be on air, reliable (hello Mr. Richmond), and presentable.
This is a really tough call.
I met Traci a couple of times, so perhaps I'm biased in her favor...But this absolutely stinks. I'm reminded of Mitch Hedberg's punch-line: "Hey screw you, you've got Lupus!"
All the best to Traci. I hope she kicks NBC's ass.
It's not because she's on-air talent where her epilepsy is a problem. Douchebag employers do not want epileptics in their buildings period. It's the lawyers again, making the world a safer place for shareholders. They really should have seen this one coming though, that HR woman sounds like an imbecile, if those were the words she used.
sigh. Yes, it's always the lawyers. Everything is ALWAYS a lawyer's fault.
another person who has drunk the corporate kool aid. Ah, corporations, so loving and benevolent. Lawsuits against them are never just for ANY reason.
This shtick is tired. Don't you have some jokes about airline food or something?
But everything is always a lawyer's fault. Maybe if some of you invested in better wardrobes and stopped talking like three week-old conjoined piglets, then you might not be the butt of so many jokes.
We don't have time to shop for better wardrobes. We're too busy fighting the man.
it would be cooler if her problem was tourette's and not epilipsy.
i agree the HR lady pretty much signed the settlement check with her mouth right there.
I am disgusted by the treatment Traci has received at NBC. She was born to be a reporter and is a great one at that. SO she has epilepsy - so what. She has done her job well for years. She is allowed to take sick days - that is what they are there for. But she must be terrified to even take one now. Or to cough or sneeze or even look tired in case some ignorant person at her station uses it against her because she has some other unrelated medical issue. What is next NBC - someone has asthma so fire them because they might wheeze on TV, low BP - get rid of them they might faint, high blood pressure - offscreen please, they might have a heart attack. If they are going to be so pathetic soon there will be noone left on the news to read - maybe they could get a robot to read it - they obviously don't want humans too.
Lets go by the facts - Traci does a fabulous job, is reliable, honest and so good at what she does. You can see she has a passion for her work - even as management and ignorant human resource staff are trying to stamp it out.
I support Traci in what she is doing. This type of discrimination needs to stop.
You are fabulous sweet girl - I am sorry you are having to fight for what should be basic rights.
Again, we don't even know half of the story here. How many days off for sick leave a month? Perhaps NBC didn't do enough to accomodate her. Who knows? But we don't know the facts, do we?
There is a limit. If she's taking off like 10 days a month, that's a heck of a lot of sick time. I would suggest that would be too much.
If she's not doing her assignments and letting them slide, again, is that excusable?
News is a very time-sensitive subject, and if you're incapacitated because of a condition that will not let you complete the assignment in the time necessary, well, the product (news) suffers.
Perhaps she could do more human interest, less time-sensitive stuff? I dunno.
Being a real-time news reporter and on-air personality is a lot less different than being an insurance claims processor, or actuary where the work is going to sit there until you get back.
Just my $0.02.
***lot *MORE* different*** -- sorry.
I know Traci and can tell you that her seizures are very mild. She can tell they are coming a few minutes in advance and could excuse herself from any situation in advance. I saw her have one once and all that happened is she looked distracted.
What ticks me off is that people look for flexibility in workplaces all the time for their kids, taking sick days, leaving work early, etc. They are never seen as "unreliable". I work with people who call in sick every day with "migranes" and everyone is sympathetic.
Here is someone ho was nominated for a couple of emmys, had outstanding work reviews, and had a few sick days and a freakish HR person convinced a lame-brained acting news director to "get tough" on the person with a disability. The ignorance about this condition is astounding. She has no more sick days than the average person with kids or who cares for an ageing parent.
PLUS now she doesn't feel like she can have any sick days, she goes to work every day for the company which discriminated against her and has to watch her every move as the HR lady and the needlehead news dude are obviously so vindictive.
I thought SF would be more tolerant.
Traci is a woman to be admired and supported.
okay... I'm sorry, but Traci Grant is a crappy reporter. Everyone that works at a station knows this. She's a complete hack. Compare her work to that of oh... let's say.. Amber Lee.... or ...let's say.... Wayne Freidman.... or let's say... Jean Ellie... I mean .. seriously folks... don't get me wrong.. KNTV is a scumbag shop, run by a scumbag corp. The funny thing is.. they could have just not renewed her contract, no reason necessary.. now they shot themselves in the foot. weak sauce.