Report: Two Women File Class Action Suit Against Urban One

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, January 31, 2020

Urban One

Two women have filed a class action suit against Urban One, parent of Hip-Hop WHTA-FM (Hot 107.9)/Atlanta, over unpaid overtime, reports AJC.com's Rodney Ho. They also allege sexual harassment by former Radio One/Atlanta VP/Programming "Hurricane" Dave Smith, who is not named in the suit. Smith was let go in August by Urban One after a previous lawsuit was filed by former air personality Shorty Mack, who claimed he sexually assaulted and harassed her. Smith later filed a defamation counterclaim lawsuit.

Plaintiff Desiree Lucas joined WHTA in 2012 as a production assistant while Dominique Hinton joined the station as a production assistant and board-op the same year. According to the suit, the job posts were categorized as hourly employment, but when working overtime they did not receive overtime pay of time and a half -- each both worked more than 40 hours a week. The plaintiffs also believed male employees doing the same job were getting paid more than the women.

This lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Georgia, also describes alleged behavior by Smith. Both women filed comparable sex discrimination and retaliation suits with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2018.

You can read the entire lawsuit here.