LA-based manager claims female employees at the company were paid tens of thousands of dollars less than their male counterparts

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A former employee of Vice Media filed a lawsuit against the company on Tuesday, accusing it of systemic pay discrimination and citing several allegations of female employees being paid tens of thousands of dollars less than their male counterparts.

In the suit, Elizabeth Rose, a former project manager in Vice’s Los Angeles office, alleges that men she worked with earned much more than her female colleagues. She said a man she had hired was earning $25,000 a year more than she was. Later, when he was promoted to be her supervisor, the suit says, a Vice executive told Rose that the colleague was a “good personality fit” for male clients.

Michael Morrison, a Santa Monica attorney who filed the lawsuit today on Rose’s behalf, said: “You would just be floored.”

Harvey Weinstein lawsuit: attorney general says 'we have never seen anything as despicable' Read more

Morrison said: “She hired someone who made more than her, who was essentially groomed to be her supervisor. What greater form of discrimination and oppression than paying someone less for their services because of their sex?”

The lawsuit also alleges that a female editor hired in the company’s Los Angeles office was offered $15,000 less than a male editor hired in Brooklyn. According to the lawsuit, Michael Prommer, a former Vice manager, when asked about the discrepancy, allegedly replied: “This is how much we can offer her.”

Vice said it was reviewing the lawsuit. It said: “As a company, we have made a significant commitment to a respectful, inclusive and equal workplace.”

A recent New York Times article on Vice detailed allegations of unwanted kissing, groping, and termination for some employees who rejected their superiors’ sexual advances. The Times piece came in the context of the #MeToo movement, which has unearthed systematic sexual harassment and assault in a number of industries, including the news media.

We have failed to create a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone, especially women, can feel respected Vice Media founders

In response to the allegations first reported by the Times, Vice admitted: “From the top down, we have failed as a company to create a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone, especially women, can feel respected and thrive.”

Vice’s response was included in the lawsuit as evidence of the company’s “systematic, company-wide, unlawful treatment of [Rose] and hundreds of similarly situated employees”.

Morrison, Rose’s lawyer, said: “Even after the New York Times article came out, people can’t tell what Vice has actually done – besides lip service – to make changes. It’s time to hold them accountable.”

News of the lawsuit quickly provoked discussion about Vice on social media, with several former female employees posting about their experiences.

One former employee, Kayla Ruble, told the Guardian she had experienced the kind of pay discrimination alleged in the suit, and described working at Vice as “an intense environment of misogyny”.

She said that her experience had made her think “maybe I’m not worth it”.

Ruble, who left Vice in 2016, said she wasn’t sure if her experience would qualify her for inclusion in the suit, but was thinking of contacting Morrison’s law firm. She said she knew of other female Vice employees were thinking of doing the same.

About two hours after the lawsuit was reported, Morrison said, several women had contacted his law firm, ready to talk about their own pay disparity grievances with Vice.