ABC Signature will pay $3 million to resolve claims of sexual harassment and retaliation brought by the state of California on behalf of a group of crewmembers.
The California Civil Rights Department in May 2020 sued Disney, ABC Signature and others and individuals alleging that they violated the Fair Employment and Housing Act, the Ralph Civil Rights Act and state law. The department alleged that director of photography Gregory St. Johns sexually harassed male crewmembers for 14 seasons of the series and that producers ignored the behavior and fired workers who complained.
“Pursuant to a three-year consent decree resolving this case, ABC Signature will pay $3 million for a class of approximately twelve individuals, revise and distribute policies to all shows produced by ABC Signature, train production and human resources employees, meet regularly with production supervisors and HR to ensure there are no unaddressed complaints of harassment/retaliation on set, and report on compliance annually to CRD,” states a Monday press release issued by the department.
Disney has not yet responded to a request for comment on the settlement.
A hearing for court approval of the consent decree is currently set for Thursday.