Paramount Attorney Claims Company’s DEI Efforts Led to His Firing

Corporations that launch Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs might claim to have honorable intentions. These efforts are usually touted as ways to boost opportunities for people from demographic groups that might have been previously mistreated. Regardless of the intentions behind a DEI effort, discrimination is discrimination, whether the victim is Black or White. A recent lawsuit from a 58-year-old White man alleges that the media giant he worked for replaced him with a much younger non-White employee. 

Former Paramount Global executive Peter Jerome contends his discharge was motivated by age and race and tied to Paramount’s DEI goals. According to news reports, Paramount has reversed some of its policies ostensibly aimed at increasing workplace diversity, but that occurred after Jerome’s firing. He alleges that two fellow attorneys were dismissed from Paramount’s CBS Media Ventures group in the past year, and both were also over 50 years old and White. Jerome says his replacement is Black while the individuals who filled the other two attorneys’ positions are Asian. 

Media companies such as Paramount often focus on attracting younger audiences. This can lead to questions as to whether certain comments reflect marketing goals or bias against older individuals. One example cited by Jerome is a statement by the then-president of CBS News that Jerome was “thinking old” when he pointed out an incorrect use of legal terminology.   

Recent court decisions and administrative actions have generated a great deal of momentum for discrimination claims accusing companies of illegal overreach in their DEI programs. While some employers have made meaningful changes to promote across-the-board fairness, other have seemed to maintain the same standards while adjusting the language they use in an attempt to avoid legal problems. 

You don’t have to stand for unlawful bias in the workplace just because you are not from a traditionally underrepresented group. Kardell Law Group battles for victims of discrimination and pursues fair compensation that can include back pay, loss of potential earnings and medical expenses associated with the stress stemming from the loss of one’s job.