Jun 7, 2012
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A former anchor at The Weather Channel is suing the network after she said she was fired over a dispute involving her military service.
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Nicole Mitchell, an Air Force Reserve Officer and a member of the “Hurricane Hunters” team, has accused The Weather Channel and NBC of discrimination and violating her rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.
Mitchell said she began to experience harassment about her military service just after The Weather Channel was purchased by NBC, Bain Capital and the Blackstone Group, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.
Court papers allege NBC bosses made explicit complaints about her military service schedule and created a “hostile working environment” for the anchor.
Mitchell, who holds the rank of captain, was an on-air meteorologist for The Weather Channel from 2004 until 2011 – when her contract was not renewed. She is a highly decorated officer who flies aboard a “Hurricane Hunter” and her military expertise was especially noted during the network’s hurricane coverage.
But after the network was purchased by NBC/Universal, Mitchell said network executives ordered her to get clearance before agreeing to any military assignments.
“I was told in an email, ‘before you agree to military duty, you need to clear it through us first,’” Mitchell told Fox News Radio. “If you don’t show up for orders, you could be court-martialed.”
The Weather Channel released a statement to Fox News Radio declining to comment on the specifics of the case.
Spokesman David Blumenthal said the network “is committed to creating a work atmosphere free of discrimination and in compliance with The Uniformed Services Employment Reemployment rights Act of 1994.”
Blumenthal said some of Mitchell’s allegations were inaccurate, but declined to provide specific examples.
“We disagree with many of the assertions in the plaintiff’s press statements and intend to vigorously defend the matter in the arbitration process,” he said.
Lance LoRusso, Mitchell’s attorney, called The Weather Channel and NBC’s behavior “deplorable.”
“It is not a matter of providing lip service and saying you support the military,” he told Fox News Radio. “You cannot interfere with their service. You cannot provide harassment or a hostile environment to them and if you do – you are subject to sanctions.”
An incident involving a missed hair appointment seems to be where Mitchell’s career at The Weather Channel.
LoRusso said his client received a telephone call ordering her to appear for a Sunday hair consultation.
“They said quite clearly, ‘this is non-negotiable, no excuses,’” LoRusso said.
But Mitchell did have an excuse – she was on weekend military duty – and Mitchell had given the network advance notice of her responsibilities.
“She was told that was not a good answer,” he recounted. “They gave her a hard time, but she stuck to her guns.”
It wasn’t long before she was transferred from a Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. – 10 a.m. anchor shift on “Your Weather Today” to a Monday-Friday, 10 p.m.-2a.m. shift.
And LoRusso believes she Mitchell was removed from her star role because she’s a weekend warrior.
“Here we truly believe that the scheduling and the fact that her Reserve duty was up against a schedule of NBC and The Weather Channel – was a motivating factor in their decision,” he said. “That is illegal.”
Mitchell joined the Air National Guard when she was 17-years-old – and the network was well aware of her military commitments when she was hired, LoRusso said.
“It’s not a matter of courtesy,” he said. “It’s a matter of obligation. Our military cannot function as a volunteer force if the individual employers can control when our service members can appear and when they shouldn’t.”
LoRusso noted the irony of NBC’s sponsorship of a pro-military campaign called, ‘Got Your 6’ – vowing to support service members.
“Well, you should start in house,” he said.
FOX News Talk
Get your application in to Fox and Friends. They would love to have you.
The weather channel needs someone like Chris Matthews.
I call for Justice!
I fully support our Military and I CAN live without The Weather Channel AND those who advertise on it.
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There has GOT to be something else there. She ran straight to Fox, which tells me there is some collusion here.
Oh, please.
Just took weatherchannel off of my computer and put on accuweather – thanks for the info.
This story is no shock to anyone that has ever served in the Guard / Reserve forces. This kind of 'harassment' and blatant discrimination goes on all the time. I will bet many have been passed over for promotion, get assigned less-favorable shifts, etc – because of their military obligation. Employers of course would argue it has 'nothing to do with their military service' and would cite 'internal & confidential' reasons for passing over a guard or reserve member…call it 'coincidence' I guess, but if you can connect the dots – it raises eyebrows. I've known guard and reserve members that were 'encouraged' to take paid time off in order to perform their duties…also illegal. BUT – despite the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the burden of proof is on the military member to prove they were discriminated against and very rarely is the government going to step in and defend that person….then for that matter, if you do bring suit, and win – what are you going to accomplish? do you seriously want to go back to an employer with a target on your back? guarantee they keep you in the cross-hairs and look for anything possible violation and then let you go for cause.
do I believe she was discriminated against? without knowing all the details even, I would guess she probably was – I've know too many people in that situation that were hosed over by their civilian employers because of their military service. many employers will say they support the military – until it affects them of course…
TWC has gone downhill since NBC purchased it. I don't think that comes as a surprise either. TWC used to give it to your straight – the weather, and threw in specials on storms and the like, and stayed out of political areas like 'global warming' – which even if true we can do nothing about. If I wanted a liberal spin on anything, I'd turn on CNN! but the weather? and AL ROKER having a daily gig in the mornings? is he even a meteorologist? stick to 'Today'….
The Weather Channel is a joke, anyway. All that sensationalizm with tornado's and stuff.
Get the weather on the web…..
Another one! NBC, MSNBC, The Weather Channel, I'm done with you, and I am telling everybody! Maybe we should bring back the draft and draft all the people at these people at these companies?
During Hurricane Season, I would think it would be great for the weather channel to have someone who can actually fly one of those hurricane hunter planes as they fly in and through a storm to give the american people an idea of what its like, and how much work goes on when passing through a storm.
I was in the Army National Guard as a full time member for 26 years and saw many of our best soldiers get out of the Guard due to employer pressure. There are many employers who support our citizen soldiers, but some do not. I hope she wins her case against the network.
Go Nicole. TWC has shown itself to be anti-American, anti-U.S. military, and anti-female, with their actions.T they will lose this lawsuit and lose big. TWC should be ashamed of their actions.
Go Nicole. TWC has shown itself to be anti-American, anti-U.S. military, and anti-female, with their actions.T they will lose this lawsuit and lose big. TWC should be ashamed of their actions.
I live in Mississippi and work for an emergency management agency. The information gathered by the Hurricane Hunters helps us save countless lives and helps us prepare for the worst of weather. Thank you for you service. One of my son's is in the Air Guard and has experienced problems with his empolyers in the past regarding his military requirements.
I live in Mississippi and work for an emergency management agency. The information gathered by the Hurricane Hunters helps us save countless lives and helps us prepare for the worst of weather. Thank you for you service. One of my son's is in the Air Guard and has experienced problems with his empolyers in the past regarding his military requirements.
Don't forget to let TWC know what you think of them and their actions.
Boycott NBC; and the Weather Channel! Til she is treated properly! What's "NBC" Stand for anyway? News Before Country!
I think fox news just found a new meteorologist.
NNBC shows their hate by messing with Nicole Mitchell. She told them about her active military duties, and the goonsquad continues to give nothing more than lip service to the military. I say put the NBC Exective goons into the stockade, and give them a waterboarding. Let the NBC dumbos learn what it's like getting court martialed.
Advocating torture Ed? You must really hate all things NBC. Funny how FOX is the only group running this "story".
Jason, I studied journalism at Cypress College, then at CSU Long Beach. If vile dumbasses like Ed Schultz are allowed to call women like Laura Ingraham sluts, then get away with it with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, why should I respect NBC? Schulz, Chrissie Matthews, Larry O'Donnell and just about every other squawking head on the screen have done everything I have learned not to do in being fair and balanced in reporting. Why should I trust NBC when a bunch of LOONEY BUTTHEADS rip their gas on air? By the way, I read other sources such as Telegraph, Daily Yomiuri, Rafu and other international sources, and at times – the liberal Huffington Post. Now, if NBC would either own up to admitting they are 0bama's media cheerleaders, admit they are liberal and unbalanced, or fire their liberal assclowns, maybe then I might perhaps have a little respect for NBC.
Oh, by the way, of course NBC refuses to open their scrotum over the weather channel anchor incident. It exposes their skidmarks on their underwear to the public!
By the way Jason, when I see something corrupt, I call it out, regardless of what side it comes from. Unfortunately, most of it has been coming from the far left for several years now…much longer than the time I first joined Facebook. I've called out GOP chair Michael Steele when he aided and abetted a few dumbasses who spent some taxpayer money on some vile things as well…the strip club incident a few years ago.
What a bunch of liberal A holes – these are the types that will be the first people the Taliban will kill if we ever allow this country to become weak and impotent.
It's OK we stopped watching NBC programming long ago. All there news was so biased it smelled.
Just deleted my TWC app from my phone and will not reinstall, I'll just look out the window.
LOL… WOW where all the whining liberal women's groups at? Oh yeah, I forgot…You stupid liberal bastards!
were*
Businesses should treat them with more respect than this. Especially since military puts their lives on the line for the freedoms we take for granted.
I had the boss from Hell in 1989. I often had drill weekends when she wanted to do stupid things like having "brainstorming sessions" or shindigs on the weekends and I couldn't go because I had drill weekend. She said, "What if it came to a choice between the Navy and your job." I looked at her straight in the eye and said, "YOU CAN'T DO THAT — THAT's ILLEGAL UNDER THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS ACT of 1948." She backed off but I know she thought I used drill to get out of a weekend meeting with her. I told her I would never insult the Navy by saying I had drill when I didn't. If I said I was on duty that weekend, I was. A few years ago, while reading FB, I saw her face and a new name plus children and I said – not realizing where I was – "someone MARRIED the bitch?" Wow! Some men really do get desperate. Maybe he has poor eyesight?
Thank you for your service, Capt. Mitchell, and best wishes in your lawsuit. NBC needs to pull their head out and do the right thing.
I say we send some MARINES over to talk to her bossesat NBC..
This post and all the comments have really opened my eyes and I will not continue to support TWC anymore. Nicole Mitchell deserves our respect and admiration for her service to our country and seeing her on TWC was a delight and they go and terminate her. I have been watching TWC since it's inception when I was a kid and another big complaint I have is…..Where' the weather? It's turned into a barage of Storm Stories and other shows and doesn't even hardly ever give you the actual forecasts anymore, esp. on weekends. Everytime I turn it to TWC now it's some tornado, hurricane or other show that they have ran in the ground over and over and I also definitely DO NOT adhere to their "forced global warming policies"! TWC…I'm done! You have turned out to be like MTV…they no longer play music videos! They have gone Hollywood if you ask me and have lost that edge for forecasting, unless it's a hurricane or a tornado about to decimate a town, then they're all over it…lol!
Very disappointed to read about TWC/NBC and how they handled this. Nicole is brilliant with her breakdown of hurricanes. Go get 'em Nicole, make them pay for their stupidity.
If they want to put on a show that some people might watch, they should put her adventures on a hurricane hunter aircraft. Now that is something I would watch, not the continuous repeating of Lifeguards.
So in this day and age, its chic to attack people of the military working in civilian life and costing them their jobs in the process? How un American. I support the troops against all enemies foreign and ""DOMESTIC"".
So in this day and age, its chic to attack people of the military working in civilian life and costing them their jobs in the process? How un American. I support the troops against all enemies foreign and ""DOMESTIC"".
I am sick and tired of this. When did we become 3rd class citizens as Americans? This woman is doing a good thing. You don't have to have joined the military to be a 3rd class citizen in the USA, either. All you have to do is disagree with the man who would wish to be king, and his troop of lemmings who forgot what country they live in.
W.. N! B! C!
Wow…
I want to know who advertises on TWC so a boycott can be organized.
fucking pieces of shit.how fucking dare they do some shit like this.
This is a disgusting story, and truly disgraceful about how they have treated Ms. Mitchell. I hope she successfully sues NBC for quite a bit of money. I can and now will live without it.
I stopped watching TWC because I don't need any drama concerning weather: it's either nice or it isn't, and I can get all the info I need at WeatherBug or Weather Underground. BOYCOTT NBC AND GE PRODUCTS! Thank you Capt Mitchell for your continued service…
I hope she kicks their asses. This is BS and she deserves a great big financial payout form those dirty Rat Bas_ _ _ ds!
If her allegations are borne out in the legal process, I hope NBC/Universal gets fined to within an inch of their teeth. This is just reprehensible.
Semper Fi girl and thanks for your service. wish I could shake your hand. Is their any thing this old marine can do.Who can I write and who can I tell kiss my Marine A–? that is not a boy scout camp out in the background. LD
Just reread your post and mine. SORRY about the GAL stuff but that is texas talk for MAMM. Give them hell Girl and kick them in the money bags where it hurts. This should and could go viral. Come on all you former millitary. One of us is taking some in comming. let's show NBC what a fire fight is all about.. You just got to love it. WHERE IS SARIA PALIN. (A LITTLE ANN RANE THEIR) LD USMC.
Seeya TWC (deleated from favorites bar) BTW I don't have cable either. For all with bundled cable packages… you're still supporting TWC. Which is unfortunate. Contact you local cable companies and discuss.
IT'S NBC, just like CNN another liberal TV station that will violate whatever federal mandates for the troops. And…screwing over a sister is arms is deplorable. They should be held fully accountable for this major ball dropping. I don't want NBC, and this solidfies how troop unfriendly they are.
IT'S NBC, just like CNN another liberal TV station that will violate whatever federal mandates for the troops. And…screwing over a sister is arms is deplorable. They should be held fully accountable for this major ball dropping. I don't want NBC, and this solidfies how troop unfriendly they are.
I was wodering if she'd possibly go to the Army Ball with me? Hmmm, that'd be cool!
I was wodering if she'd possibly go to the Army Ball with me? Hmmm, that'd be cool!
This is a shame. NBC network is nothing but a far left liberal propaganda spewing organization. And now they will use this outlet to force their BS on America.
This is NOT about global warming; This is about a member of our armed forces (those people who are DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY, ¿remember them?) who was specifically wronged. In this case, she lost her job- The job that feeds her family, in all likelihood, because militry service does NOT pay enough to feed an average family of 4. We do the “weekend warrior” thing so that, when needed, we can report to add strength to our country, and when no needed Congress can save a LOT of taxpayer money- Were we to convert to a strictly active duty militry, taxpayers would have to pay a full 5¢ more per dinner out.
This is deplorable, on every level. NBC has lawyers- ¿Did they NOT warn their bosses that this was ILLEGAL? They also have accountants; ¿Did they not tell those same bosses that Labor Commission fines ALONE would cost infinitely more than the strictly hypothetical and terribly minor costs that allowing her to do her duty ‘might’? If not, those people shouldn’t even hold their licenses- But I suspect they WERE warned, and decided to do it anyways.
Captain, GET ‘EM. And have fun with it.
This is NOT about global warming; This is about a member of our armed forces (those people who are DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY, ¿remember them?) who was specifically wronged. In this case, she lost her job- The job that feeds her family, in all likelihood, because militry service does NOT pay enough to feed an average family of 4. We do the “weekend warrior” thing so that, when needed, we can report to add strength to our country, and when no needed Congress can save a LOT of taxpayer money- Were we to convert to a strictly active duty militry, taxpayers would have to pay a full 5¢ more per dinner out.
This is deplorable, on every level. NBC has lawyers- ¿Did they NOT warn their bosses that this was ILLEGAL? They also have accountants; ¿Did they not tell those same bosses that Labor Commission fines ALONE would cost infinitely more than the strictly hypothetical and terribly minor costs that allowing her to do her duty ‘might’? If not, those people shouldn’t even hold their licenses- But I suspect they WERE warned, and decided to do it anyways.
Captain, GET ‘EM. And have fun with it.
What's the Weather Channel? I get a great idea of the weather by getting my fat ass up and going outside…
Hope she wins…. I stoped watching them when they started all those shows and not the weathe