Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes wants the sexual harassment charges brought by former anchor Gretchen Carlson adjudicated in arbitration, where the proceeding would be kept confidential.
Lawyers for Ailes also moved to have the case moved from state court in New Jersey to federal court there.
Carlson on Wednesday sued Ailes charging that her contract was not renewed because she refused to sleep with Ailes and had been complaining about working conditions for women in the Fox News newsroom.
Ailes denied the charges, branding them false and defamatory. Fox News parent company 21st Century Fox said it had confidence in Ailes, but launched in internal investigation into the matter.
Ailes claims that Carlson’s contract has an arbitration clause in it that prevents her from making employment disputes public in court. Increasingly businesses are putting arbitration clauses in contracts with workers and customers designed to keep them from having their day in court.
Attorney for Ailes also say that because Ailes lives and works in New York, and Carlson is a resident of Connecticut, the case should be tried in federal court.
Here is a statement from a Fox News spokesperson:
“Gretchen Carlson had an arbitration clause in her contract, strictly stating that any employment dispute regarding her tenure at Fox News must be done via confidential arbitration. Because Carlson’s claim on Wednesday violated that clause, coupled with the fact that neither Roger Ailes nor Gretchen Carlson reside in New Jersey and are citizens of different states, a motion was filed to have the case moved to Federal Court, which is in full accordance with the law.”
