Television Executive Files Wrongful Termination Claim Against CBS

Ghen Maynard, a longtime executive behind shows such as “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race,” recently filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against CBS Corp., his former employer.

Maynard alleges he was forced out of his position due to his age and race, and claims the company ran a biased investigation into him to justify letting him go. He filed the lawsuit in late November in California Superior Court in Los Angeles, just about two months after first discovering he would be terminated from his position as senior executive vice president of alternative programs for CBS Studios.

Case background

Maynard, who is 53 years old, has worked on many different shows for CBS over the years. He claims the company is focused on releasing older executives, with the court filing specifically mentioning several other recent executives with more than 20 years of experience at the company leaving or being terminated.

Maynard also claims his ethnicity (Japanese descent) played a role in the company’s decision to not renew his contract, and that the departure of Angelica McDaniel, a Mexican-American woman who recently departed the company’s daytime programming, was also due to her ethnicity. McDaniel’s successor was white. Maynard contends he and McDaniel were regularly excluded from senior leadership meetings.

According to Maynard, the relationship with CBS brass started to go downhill after CEO Leslie Moonves resigned in September 2018 amid a sexual harassment scandal.

CBS denies all the allegations and says it will “vigorously” defend itself against the allegations in the case that it characterizes as being “without merit.”

Wrongful termination is a common method of retaliating against whistleblowers. If you believe you have been the victim of wrongful termination for any reason, it is crucial you work with an attorney to protect your rights. For more information, contact a skilled attorney at Kardell Law Group.