FCC Fighting 'Hostile Workplace' Charges

The Federal Communications Commission is the target of a lawsuit related to allegations that FCC employees were repeatedly watching porn at work, creating a hostile work environment for a fellow employee. The suit stems from 2012. On Oct 19, both the FCC and the plaintiff were granted more time by the Washington, DC US District Court for discovery in the ongoing case, with the FCC planning to depose the plaintiff and the plaintiff planning to depose an additional FCC employee. That plaintiff, a 30-year vet of the agency, filed suit charging she had been subjected to a hostile work environment, gender discrimination and two counts of retaliation. In April of 2016, the court dismissed three of the five charges against the commission—the FCC wanted four of the five dismissed and a summary judgment in its favor on the fifth.