Former New York Public Radio reporter Jami Floyd has filed a lawsuit against the outlet after she was fired in April 2022.
In her lawsuit, Floyd alleges she was hesitant to join the network because of its reputation of not supporting Black employees. After joining the outlet in 2015, Floyd claimed she faced “a racially hostile work environment” and claims she was “bullied, demeaned, and undermined” during her tenure.
“Despite being a talented, well-educated and smart Black woman with significantly more experience than most employees in the Newsroom at WNYC, it was made clear to Floyd that she was not respected, editorially trusted, or admired,” the lawsuit reads.
Floyd — who served as the All Things Considered host on WNYC until September 2020 — was fired in April of last year after allegations of plagiarism came to light. According to an internal review, 45 articles she wrote for the WNYC website and Gothamist had portions plagiarized without proper attribution. The 45 articles were subsequently deleted “due to violations of our editorial standards”.
After her dismissal, Floyd claimed she was “not the first Black woman victimized in this company”, and refused to sign a separation agreement. She told reporters at the time of her firing that she planned to sue the network.
“For years Black and brown people, in general, and Black women, specifically, have had their careers derailed by their time at New York Public Radio,” she said after her exit, claiming she was hazed by “bullies” inside the organization.
