By Lisa
Sexual harassment at Les Moonves’ CBS was so bad that even human resources staff was vulnerable to unwanted sexual advances, an explosive new lawsuit claims.
Jacquelyn Musiello, a former payroll specialist at CBS Radio, quit her job in 2017 due to the “physical and emotional distress” of being sexually harassed by the talent, and witnessing countless situations in which others were as well, according to the Bronx state court lawsuit.
She is seeking $10 million in damages and class-action status.
During her five years at CBS Radio, Musiello says she fielded complaints from female co-workers who described “sexual comments,” “unwelcome touching” and “innuendoes” from supervisors and radio personalities on a “nearly daily basis.”
But CBS bosses, including Musiello’s HR supervisor, did nothing but laugh, the lawsuit says.
In one 2016 instance, Musiello recounts walking in on a female and male employee having sex in a conference room after work hours. When she confronted them, the employees questioned her authority, she said. When Musiello told her boss, Margaret Marion — who is named in the complaint — of the incident, she “laughed it off,” the lawsuit added.
The suit also describes uncomfortable encounters Musiello had with CBS Radio host Dan Taylor, who stepped down from the company in 2019 after a misconduct investigation found that the company had ignored complaints of racism and sexism by three employees.
Taylor made unwanted advances toward Musiello, including giving her chocolates and flowers and a handwritten card, the suit said. He also asked her to lunch at Italian eatery PJ Charlton and then, in order to cajole her to say yes, reminded her that she was up for a promotion, saying it “would be in her best interest” to attend, the suit says.
Musiello also fielded complaints from other female staffers about Taylor in her work as a human resources exec, including Taylor’s soliciting women to join him on his private plane. But when Musiello told her boss, Marion, of the complaints about Taylor, she was given the runaround and eventually told to instruct the women to simply “stay away” from him.
“There was a deeply embedded sexist culture that extended from the top down,” said Musiello’s lawyer Donna Clancy.
The frat house-like culture at the company, particularly the radio division — which was sold in 2017 to Entercom — has been the subject of several lawsuits, as The Post has previously reported.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has probed CBS Radio as part of an overall investigation into misconduct at the broadcasting company led by Moonves until his resignation in 2018 amid an avalanche of sexual harassment claims.
CBS also fired TV newsman Charlie Rose in late 2017 over sexual misconduct allegations, including claims that he would walk around naked in front of his female staff.
The unequal treatment of men and women at the company was a constant source of frustration to Musiello, who describes a longtime female employee she says was fired when she was eight months pregnant.
Musiello claims she was expected to complete her payroll duties even when on medical leave, including right after she suffered a miscarriage in 2015. She never returned to work from that medical leave, quitting her job on Feb. 17, 2017.
CBS declined to comment while Entercom did not return a query for comment. Marion did not respond to e-mails for comment.
