Female employees are accusing Black News Channel of gender discrimination and unfair pay.

Thirteen women filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Florida-based network on Tuesday in a circuit court located in Cook County, Illinois, The Wrap reports.

The plaintiffs allege that the network created a toxic work environment by coercing the women “to conform to sexist or misogynistic stereotypes about how women are supposed to behave.”

In the amended complaint, the women alleged that executives fired female employees due to aggressive behavior and being outspoken in communication.

The women also said they were paid significantly less per year than their male co-workers.

Claudia Jean and Ashley Flete were among those who filed a complaint. Flete said that one of the network’s producers would chastise her in her earpiece for being “insufficiently feminine.”

Once human resources reviewed Flete’s complaint, she found herself out of a job. Flete committed to a two-year contract at the network, but was let go after only working for BNC for six months.

However, BNC alleged that Flete's contract wasn’t terminated due to her complaint but because the network didn’t need a morning show host anymore. Flete said she believes her protest against the network’s alleged unprofessional behavior was the catalyst that led to her removal.

Another plaintiff, director Lauren Coleman, alleged that she wasn’t compensated properly for her work and was denied a salary increase, as opposed to the male technical directors who she said all received raises between $10,000 and $15,000.

As a result, Coleman turned in her resignation letter. She alleged that the network didn’t pay her the full amount of collected vacation and sick days in retaliation.

While some of the women listed in the complaint have either resigned or been terminated, line producer Kyra Branch and an unidentified plaintiff have been able to maintain employment at the network.

The network has yet to respond to the allegations.

Black News Channel

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