Weinstein Sued by NY Attorney-general over Sexual Harassment

By Shannon Bond
Financial Times
February 11, 2018

https://www.ft.com/content/3547fc58-0f85-11e8-940e-08320fc2a277

New York’s attorney-general has sued Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company, throwing into doubt the potential sale of the troubled film studio following allegations of serial sexual misconduct by the once powerful producer.

“The Weinstein Company repeatedly broke New York law by failing to protect its employees from pervasive sexual harassment, intimidation, and discrimination,” said Eric Schneiderman, the state’s top prosecutor, on Sunday.

Following a four-month investigation into TWC, the complaint alleges “a years-long gender-based hostile work environment, a pattern of quid pro quo sexual harassment, and routine misuse of corporate resources for unlawful ends” dating back to 2005, the year Mr Weinstein founded the company with his brother Bob, who is also named in the suit.

The complaint alleges that Mr Weinstein engaged in a long-running pattern of harassment and abuse and that the company failed to investigate or stop it. It accuses the brothers and TWC of “repeated, persistent, and egregious violations of law”.

Since the first allegations against him emerged publicly in October, Mr Weinstein has been accused by more than 80 women of harassment or assault. He denies all allegations of non-consensual sex. He was fired from TWC in October and is under criminal investigation by police in New York, Los Angeles and London.