New York’s attorney general filed a suit Sunday against the Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein and his brother Robert Weinstein for “egregious violations” of the state’s civil rights, human rights and business laws.
In a press release, Eric Schneiderman alleges executives from the company and its board consistently failed to protect employees from Harvey Weinstein, who was CEO at the time.
The suit, which is the result of a four-month investigation, includes “new and extensive allegations” about Harvey Weinstein’s “vicious and exploitative mistreatment of company employees.”
Groups of women allegedly facilitated sexual activity
Numerous accounts of sexual harassment, intimidation, and other misconduct have been gathered.
Among them are claims that Weinstein used threatening language such as “I will kill your family” and “you don’t know what I can do,” telling employees he had connections in high positions to take care of problems.
The suit also states that Weinstein had three separate groups of predominantly female employees: one to “facilitate” his “sexual conquests,” and another made up of assistants to maintain space on his calendar for “regular sexual activity.
A third group of women, mainly female executives, was required “to meet with prospective sexual conquests” and to follow through on Weinstein’s “promise of employment opportunities to women” who met with his favour.
“This compelled service demeaned and humiliated them, contributing to the hostile work environment,” the law suit says.
‘Hostile’ environment could continue under new name
The complaint, filed in New York’s Supreme Court, seeks to “remedy a years-long gender-based hostile work environment, a pattern of quid pro quo sexual harassment, and routine misuse of corporate resources for unlawful ends” between 2005 and October 2017.
The attorney general says the investigation is ongoing, however the suit was introduced because of the imminent sale of the company, which could “leave victims without adequate redress, including a lack of a sufficient victims compensation fund.”
Any sale of the Weinstein Company must ensure that employees are protected going forward, the attorney general said. A potential sale could allow top officials who were allegedly aware of the misconduct to continue occupying key positions under a newly formed entity.
Harvey Weinstein has been accused by dozens of women, including several high-profile actresses, of sexual harassment and sexual assault. The disgraced media mogul initially apologized for his behaviour but has denied accusations of rape.
The allegations, first reported by the New York Times in October of 2017, led to mass movements supporting women including #MeToo and Time’s Up.