UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY CENTRAL DIVISION AT LEXINGTON JERRY SANDER Case No. 3514 Kedgewick Court Lexington, KY 40503 Judge Plaintiff, v. GRAY TELEVISION GROUP, INC. d/b/a WKYT-TV - Lexington c/o CT Corporation System COMPLAINT WITH JURY DEMAND 4169 Westport Rd. ENDORSED HEREON Louisville, KY 40207 and WKYT-TV 2851 Winchester Rd. Lexington, KY 40509 Defendants. NATURE OF ACTION Plaintiff, Jerry Sander brings this action against Defendants Gray Television Group, Inc. and WKYT-TV ( WKYT-TV ) because he was abruptly terminated in violation of his employment contract and on the basis of his age after more than 26 years of loyal, dedicated, and illustrative service. Mr. Sander is 62 years of age and was most recently employed as a Senior News Reporter - a promotion he received in 2004 as a result of his excellent work record. Mr. Courthouse News Service Sander has over 40 years of experience as a television news reporter. Throughout his employment with WKYT-TV, Mr. Sander was a loyal and dedicated employee who was wellregarded by his viewers and co-workers, was the recipient of numerous accolades, and never received any discipline or written criticism of his performance. By all accounts, Mr. Sander
excelled in his job as a News Reporter and was specifically known for his legacy in exemplary coverage of health care and medical issues. In August of 2006, Robert Thomas became Mr. Sander s new supervisor. Shortly after Thomas arrival he began to demonstrate his bias against older workers, specifically asking Mr. Sander are you sure you want to work that long (through age 66)? when referring to his employment contract that expired in 2012. Over the course of the next 18 months, Thomas repeatedly asked Mr. Sander if he was sure that he wanted to finish out the end of his contract. Because Mr. Sander had been employed with WKYT-TV for more than 26 years and enjoyed the career he had worked vigorously to build over 40 years, he communicated to Thomas that he loved his job and had no plans to repudiate his contract with WKYT-TV. Further, upon information and belief, Thomas and Michele Hill, WKYT-TV s Executive Producer, expressed their intentions to reduce WKYT-TV s staff based, at least in part, on each reporter s age. Sander believes that WKYT-TV is systematically eliminating older employees on account of their ages. When it became clear to Thomas that Mr. Sander was not going to voluntarily resign his employment with WKYT-TV, Thomas and other members of management actively engaged in an egregious campaign to make Mr. Sander s work-environment as unbearable as they possibly could in the hopes that he would become fed-up and leave. To that end, WKYT-TV eliminated many of Mr. Sander s Senior News Reporter duties shortly after Thomas arrived. Specifically, Mr. Sander previously had been responsible for assisting less senior reporters, critiquing their work, and had been a member of the News Management Team. However, subsequent to Thomas arrival, Mr. Sander was stripped of all of these responsibilities without any explanation. Additionally, throughout his career, Mr. Sander held the responsibility for covering the elections; however, Thomas refused to allow Mr. Sander 2
to provide election coverage. Furthermore, Mr. Sander s employment contract with WKYT-TV entitled him to two raises in salary for calendar years 2007 and 2008. However, without explanation, WKYT-TV failed to provide these raises in a timely manner, thereby breaching Mr. Sander s employment contract. Thomas also habitually singled Mr. Sander out in front of the news team by frequently berating him and criticizing his story ideas. Privately, Thomas made numerous statements to Mr. Sander regarding his belief that he could easily replace him with someone else. When it became clear to Thomas that his efforts to force out Mr. Sander were futile, he decided to unilaterally change Mr. Sander s reporting shift. Specifically, prior to Thomas arrival, Mr. Sander had worked the 900 a.m. to 600 p.m. shift, which was the station s most watched segment. However, Thomas demanded that he work the 400 a.m. to 100 p.m. shift, which had far less viewers. Mr. Sander did what he was asked; however, by the time he began to adjust to the earlier shift, Thomas unilaterally changed Mr. Sander s shift back to the 900 a.m. shift. One week later, Thomas demanded that Mr. Sander begin his shift at 800 a.m. On February 20, 2008, Thomas sent a memorandum to all news reporters indicating that starting the following Monday they would be required to web produce their own stories. He also informed the news reporters that they would receive web production training beginning the following morning. On February 21, 2008, Thomas ordered Mr. Sander to web produce all of WKYT-TV s news stories for the day. Additionally, Thomas asked Mr. Sander to do a Snow Go assignment, which required reporting school and business closings due to inclement weather. Typically the Snow Go assignments were reserved for the station s producers who, unlike the reporters, had been trained on the computer system. Although Mr. Sander was willing to attempt the web production of all of the news stories, he was concerned about the Snow Go assignment, as he had no training and knew how much the viewers relied upon accurate school 3
and business closing information. Mr. Sander expressed his concerns to Thomas. Instead of discussing the issue in private with Mr. Sander, Thomas publicly berated Mr. Sander and ordered him to go home for the day and not return until told to do so. In response, Mr. Sander asked to speak to the General Manager, Wayne Martin who was not available. He asked Martin s secretary, Deanna Wolfe, whether anyone else was available for him to speak to, but she informed him that no one was in that day. Suffering from extreme emotional turmoil, Mr. Sander left his office when it was clear that no one in upper management was available to speak to him. Upon arriving at home, he asked his wife to contact WKYT-TV to find out whether he was scheduled for the following day. She learned that he was not scheduled. Later that afternoon, Thomas contacted Mr. Sander to schedule a meeting with Martin the following Monday. He instructed Mr. Sander not to return to work until Monday, February 25, 2008. On February 25, 2008, Mr. Sander met with Martin and Thomas. Martin gave Mr. Sander the following four options (1) he could resign with no benefits; (2) he could be terminated with unemployment benefits; (3) he could resign with a severance package; or (4) he could return to work. Although Mr. Sander expressed his desire to return to work, Martin removed that option from consideration several days later and terminated Mr. Sander s employment. Mr. Sander has experienced extreme difficulty in obtaining comparable employment as a result of his abrupt termination from WKYT-TV. PARTIES 1. Plaintiff Jerry Sander is a resident and citizen of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 4
2. Defendant Gray Television Group, Inc. is incorporated in Georgia and has a registered agent in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Defendant, WKYT-TV is a Kentucky corporation. 3. Gray Television Group, Inc., and WKYT-TV are hereinafter referred to as Defendants. 4. Defendants are employers within the meaning of federal and state law. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 5. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants because Defendants transact business in this Division and this District. 6. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over Count I pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1331 because it arises under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ( ADEA ), 29 U.S.C. 629, et seq. 7. This Court has supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims in Counts II and III pursuant to 29 U.S.C. 1367 on the grounds that Counts II and III are so related to the federal claim included in Count I over which the Court has original jurisdiction, that they form part of the same case or controversy. 8. Venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1391 because Plaintiff was employed in this Division and District and a substantial amount of the conduct giving rise to Plaintiff s claims occurred within this Division and District. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS 9. Plaintiff is 62 years old. 10. Plaintiff was employed by Defendants for over 26 years. 11. Plaintiff has over 40 years of experience as a television news reporter. 5
12. Plaintiff was most recently promoted to Senior News Reporter in 2004. Plaintiff excelled in his job to such an extent that he became well known in Central Kentucky for his reporting, particularly on medical and health issues. 13. At all times while employed, Plaintiff was a loyal and dedicated employee who devoted himself to his job. 14. Plaintiff was fully qualified for his position at all relevant times. 15. Plaintiff has an employment contract with Defendants that does not expire until 2012. Pursuant to the contract, Plaintiff could only be terminated for cause. 16. In August of 2006, Robert Thomas became Plaintiff s new supervisor. 17. At Plaintiff s first meeting with Thomas, Thomas asked him if he was certain that he wanted to finish out his employment contract. 18. Plaintiff informed Thomas that he enjoyed his job and had no plans to resign from employment with WKYT-TV before his employment contract expired. 19. Subsequently, Thomas stripped Plaintiff of many of his duties and responsibilities as a Senior News Reporter. 20. Defendants failed to give Plaintiff, in a timely manner, two pay raises for calendar years 2007 and 2008. Plaintiff was entitled to these pay raises pursuant to his employment contract with Defendants. 21. Although Plaintiff alerted Defendants to the breach of contract, Defendants failed to retroactively apply Plaintiff s pay raise in 2007. 22. Thomas and Michele Hill, Executive Producer at WKYT-TV, repeatedly berated Plaintiff in front of his peers and co-workers. 23. Thomas would not allow Plaintiff to cover the types of stores he had previously covered as a Senior News Reporter. For example, Plaintiff always had a major assignment for 6
election coverage, yet under Thomas supervision, Plaintiff was not permitted to cover election news. 24. Thomas unilaterally changed Plaintiff s reporting shift from the 900 a.m. to 600 p.m. shift, which was the station s most watched segment, to the 400 a.m. to 100 p.m. shift, which had fewer viewers. Thomas unilaterally decided to switch Plaintiff s reporting shift back to the 900 a.m. to 600 p.m. shift when he realized that Plaintiff had adapted to the change. 25. On February 20, 2008, Thomas informed the news reporters that they were going to start web producing their own stories the following Monday. Thomas also instructed the news reporters to participate in training on web producing the following morning. 26. On February 21, 2008, Thomas instructed Plaintiff to web produce the entire broadcast for that day. 27. Thomas also unilaterally assigned Plaintiff to do Snow Go, in which Plaintiff was to report on school and other closings due to the inclement weather. 28. Upon information and belief, no other Senior News Reporter in WKYT-TV s history had been assigned to do Snow Go and these responsibilities had always been assumed by WKYT-TV s Producers who were trained on the computer system. There was not a shortage of producers on February 21, 2008. 29. Plaintiff had never done Snow Go and did not have any training in web producing the entire broadcast. 30. Plaintiff voiced his concern about the assignment to Thomas. Specifically, Plaintiff was concerned about the importance of Snow Go to the station s viewers and his lack of training on the system. Thomas responded by shouting at Plaintiff. 7
31. Subsequently, Plaintiff told Thomas that he was not feeling well and that he was going home for the remainder of the day. However, Thomas continued to yell at Plaintiff as Plaintiff walked to his office to leave for the day. 32. Thomas instructed Plaintiff to leave the office and not return until he was told to do so. 33. Plaintiff attempted to discuss the issues with Wayne Martin, General Manager of WKYT-TV, however, he was not in that day. 34. Plaintiff went home for the day and asked his wife to call WKYT-TV to ask when Plaintiff was expected to report to work again. In response, she was told that he had been taken off of the schedule. 35. Upon information and belief, pursuant to WKYT-TV policy and practice, an employee may only resign by providing written notice of his or her resignation. 36. By leaving the office on February 21, 2008, Plaintiff did not intend to resign his employment. Plaintiff never submitted a written resignation. 37. WKYT-TV terminated Plaintiff s employment by refusing to allow him to report to work. 38. On February 25, 2008, Plaintiff met with Martin and Thomas to discuss his future at WKYT-TV. Martin gave Plaintiff four options (1) he could resign with no benefits; (2) he could be terminated with unemployment benefits; (3) he could resign with a severance package; or (4) he could return to work. 39. Although Plaintiff expressed his desire to return to work, Martin removed that option from consideration several days later and terminated his employment. 40. Upon information and belief, Thomas and Hill expressed their intentions to reduce the WKYT-TV staff based, in part, on each news reporter s age. 8
41. Plaintiff was treated differently than other similarly-situated employees who were younger. 42. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff s job responsibilities have been assumed by substantially younger, less qualified employees. 43. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff was terminated on the basis of his age. 44. Plaintiff was not terminated for cause. Thus, Defendants breached the employment contract with Plaintiff. COUNT I (Age Discrimination - ADEA) 45. Plaintiff realleges the foregoing paragraphs as if fully rewritten herein. 46. Plaintiff was over the age of 40 and fully qualified for his position at all relevant times. 47. Plaintiff s termination permitted the hiring and/or retention of younger employees. 48. Defendants actions were intentional, wilful, wanton, and malicious in nature. 49. As a direct and proximate cause of Defendants unlawful discriminatory conduct, Plaintiff has been damaged and is entitled to relief under the ADEA. COUNT II (Age Discrimination- K.R.S. 344.040) 50. Plaintiff realleges the foregoing paragraphs as if fully rewritten herein. 51. Plaintiff was over the age of 40 and fully qualified for his position at all relevant times. 52. Plaintiff s termination permitted the hiring and/or retention of younger employees. 53. Plaintiff was terminated on account of his age in violation of K.R.S. 344.040. 54. Defendants actions were intentional, willful, wanton, and malicious in nature. 9
55. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants unlawful discriminatory conduct, Plaintiff has been damaged and is entitled to judgment against Defendants under K.R.S. 344.040 for all damages resulting from its unlawful discriminatory conduct. COUNT III (Breach of Contract) 56. Plaintiff realleges the foregoing paragraphs as if fully rewritten herein. 57. Plaintiff had a written contract of employment with Defendants. 58. Plaintiff s contract included a provision that Plaintiff would receive scheduled pay raises. 59. In 2007 and 2008, Defendants failed to timely pay Plaintiff his pay raises set out in his contract. As such Defendants breached the contract with Plaintiff. 60. Despite being on notice of the breach, in 2007 Defendants failed to reimburse Plaintiff for the period of time Defendants were in breach of the contract with Plaintiff. 61. Plaintiff s contract of employment included a provision that Plaintiff could only be terminated for cause. 62. Defendants alleged reasoning for terminating Plaintiff s employment fails to meet the for cause standard set out in Plaintiff s employment contract. Therefore, the termination was without cause and Defendants breached the contract with Plaintiff. 63. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants breach, Plaintiff has been damaged and is entitled to judgment against Defendants for all damages resulting from the breach of contract. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, Jerry Sander demands judgment against Defendants, Gray Television Group Inc. and WKYT-TV, as follows (a) That Defendants be enjoined from further unlawful conduct as described herein; 10
(b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) That Plaintiff be reinstated to his employment; That Plaintiff be awarded all lost pay and benefits; That Plaintiff be awarded compensatory damages; That Plaintiff be awarded punitive damages; That Plaintiff be awarded pre-judgment interest; That Plaintiff be awarded reasonable attorney s fees and costs; and That Plaintiff be awarded all other legal and equitable relief to which he may be entitled. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Randolph H. Freking Randolph H. Freking (23509) Trial Attorney for Plaintiff FREKING & BETZ, LLC 525 Vine Street, Sixth Floor Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 PHONE (513) 721-1975/FAX (513) 651-2570 randy@frekingandbetz.com JURY DEMAND Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable. /s/ Randolph H. Freking 11