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Older TV Writers Press Case; Class-Action Lawsuit Alleges that in Youth-Obsessed Hollywood They’re ‘Graylisted’ After Age 40

Los Angeles Times
Published: November 12, 2000

By Lisa Girion

Summary: In an increasingly youth-obsessed Hollywood, many writers say job offers and incomes plunge after 40. The ageism complaint has dogged the industry, particularly television, for years. Yet in the decade or so since a documentary, "Power and Fear: The Hollywood Grey List," put the bleak outlook for older writers in the spotlight, few writers have been bold enough to go public with ageism complaints and none has taken a case to court, perhaps out of fear that whistle-blowing would extinguish any hope of working in this town again. Until now. In a novel and far-reaching class-action lawsuit, 28 television writers have put their names to ageism charges against more than 50 TV networks, studios, production companies and talent agencies. In addition to unspecified damages, the suit seeks a remedy that could roil the industry even more than a big payout: Court supervision of network and studio hiring for five years or longer, as long as it would take to wipe out the alleged ageist exclusion of writers 40 and older. Court supervision is not uncommon in class-action discrimination cases. The same week they filed suit on behalf of the writers, the lead law firm, Sprenger + Lang, won an $ 8-million settlement from CBS Inc. That lawsuit was on behalf of more than 200 women technicians working at TV stations across the country who claimed they were victims of sexual discrimination in pay and promotions. The settlement, pending court approval, also would place CBS under court supervision for four years, force operational changes and require reports on the status of women technicians.