Sections of a USA Today newspaper, published by media company Gannett, on Aug. 5, 2019, in Norwood, Mass.Steven Senne/The Associated Press
A federal judge in Virginia has tossed out a proposed class action accusing newspaper publisher Gannett GCI-N of adopting diversity policies that had led to widespread discrimination against white employees.
U.S. District Judge Rossie Alston in Alexandria, Virginia, on Tuesday said the 2023 lawsuit was “vague and conclusory” and that the five named plaintiffs had failed to identify a company-wide policy that impacted them due to their race. But the judge gave the plaintiffs 30 days to amend their lawsuit and flesh out their claims.
Alston, an appointee of Republican former President Donald Trump, also said the lawsuit was not grounded in a common legal theory that could form the basis of a nationwide class action, since each named plaintiff claims they were affected by Gannett’s policies in different ways.
“The Plaintiffs would all be seeking relief based on different theories of recovery, based on different positions at different newspapers in different areas of the country with different decision-makers,” he wrote.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Polly Grunfeld Sack, Gannett’s chief legal officer, said the company was pleased with the ruling.
“Gannett always seeks to recruit and retain the most qualified individuals for all roles within the company. We will always vigorously defend our practice of ensuring equal opportunities for all our valued employees,” Sack said in a statement.
The named plaintiffs say they were fired, pushed to quit, or passed over for promotions to make room for women or minorities, or paid less than non-white colleagues. And they claim those decisions were driven by a policy Gannett announced in 2020 saying the company aimed to have its newsrooms reflect the demographics of the communities they cover by 2025.
Gannett has maintained that the alleged “policy” was merely a report stating aspirational goals, and denied engaging in race discrimination in order to meet them. Alston on Tuesday largely agreed, saying the report did not include specific quotas or provide concrete plans to achieve diversity targets.
The lawsuit was filed amid growing backlash to corporate diversity policies that have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. But unlike other pending cases alleging bias against white workers, the case against Gannett was not brought by shareholders or conservative legal groups.
Alston in his decision said each plaintiff failed to state a discrimination claim. One plaintiff who said she was fired because she is white failed to show that she was performing well in her job; another who sought a promotion that went to a Black woman did not allege that he was more qualified for the position, Alston said.