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Harvey Weinstein's contract with TWC allowed for sexual harassment, as long he paid

T

Tovarisc

Member
Harvey Weinstein may have been fired illegally by The Weinstein Company, a company that wrote a contract that said Weinstein could get sued over and over for sexual harassment and as long as he shelled out money, that was good enough for the Company.

TMZ is privy to Weinstein's 2015 employment contract, which says if he gets sued for sexual harassment or any other "misconduct" that results in a settlement or judgment against TWC, all Weinstein has to do is pay what the company's out, along with a fine, and he's in the clear.

According to the contract, if Weinstein "treated someone improperly in violation of the company's Code of Conduct," he must reimburse TWC for settlements or judgments. Additionally, "You [Weinstein] will pay the company liquidated damages of $250,000 for the first such instance, $500,000 for the second such instance, $750,000 for the third such instance, and $1,000,000 for each additional instance."

The contract says as long as Weinstein pays, it constitutes a "cure" for the misconduct and no further action can be taken. Translation -- Weinstein could be sued over and over and as long as he wrote a check, he keeps his job.

The contract has specific language as to when the Board of Directors can fire Weinstein -- if he's indicted or convicted of a crime, but that doesn't apply here.

There's another provision ... he can be fired for "the perpetuation by you [Weinstein] of a material fraud against the company." The question ... where's the fraud? Lance Maerov, the board member who negotiated Weinstein's 2015 contract, said in an interview -- and we've confirmed -- the Board knew Weinstein had settled prior lawsuits brought by various women, but they "assumed" it was to cover up consensual affairs. The Board's assumption does not constitute fraud on Weinstein's part.

And here's the kicker. Even if Weinstein had committed fraud by not fully informing the Board of Directors, the contract says before he can be fired he has a right to mediation and if that doesn't work, he's entitled to arbitration. He got neither. He was summarily fired, and sources connected with Weinstein tell TMZ he was never given a specific reason.
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http://www.tmz.com/2017/10/12/weins...ein-company-sexual-harassment-firing-illegal/
 
J

John Dunbar

correct about everything
well, having to pay a million a pop after the first three probably means he'd go broke. is there someone he hasn't tried to have sex with?
 
J

jelly

Member
Wow.

I guess he didn't pay out much or at all because he would kill their career so it wouldn't get too far.
 
M

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Wowwwww

TripleBee said:
Why would anybody agree to somebody asking for that clause in their contract ? Whole board is complicit.
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Exactly.

"We know you keep sexually harassing/assaulting women, we know you can't help yourself, but it's all good so long as you pay 'em settlements to keep 'em quiet K?"

FUCK OFF
 
B

BlackDoomShadow

Member
TWC is done. The stink on Weinstein's name will never wear off. Weinstein will sue them and win because of this absurd contract and they'll go bankrupt.
 
F

Freddy=Legend

Member
Wait, wait, wait....this shit was so common and prevalent that they put a clause in his contract about it? Like, I can't comprehend how this contract get approved by a Board. Basically, you're telling me the entire Board of Directors knew he was doing this shit & it was likely they'd have to shell some cash out, so they're covering their asses? I don't know. This doesn't seem like common thing to just throw in the fine print of every contract.
 
J

jayu26

Member
Oh yeah, what's their rate for murder? It honestly feels like rich and powerful can get away with anything.
 
H

hamauzu kaito

Member
and we have officially reached decadence! My jaw literally dropped reading this. I guess this is why TWC was so eager to try and remedy the situation by firing him, but it was too little too late.
 
P

parrotbeak

Member
It was probably negotiated over many drafts, probably with TWC wanting explicit language that he could be fired for misconduct including sexual harassment, then maybe he countered that he could not be fired so long as he settled up with the company so they weren't at a loss, then they probably added that if he was indicted or convicted he could be fired. Both parties would be trying to CYA at the expense of potential victims, which is almost always the case even when you're not dealing with a serial harasser.

I can't believe a big company would do such a high profile termination without checking the contract but who knows.
 
B

broncobuster

Banned
The Weinstein Company’s Board of Representatives – Bob Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar – are shocked and dismayed by the recently emerged allegations of extreme sexual misconduct and sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein. These alleged actions are antithetical to human decency. These allegations come as an utter surprise to the Board. Any suggestion that the Board had knowledge of this conduct is false
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Shocked and dismayed

That's how you know they're being honest
 
Bolivar687

Bolivar687

Banned
inky said:
Is that, like, a standard clause anywhere?
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image.php


RS4- said:
If you work for Trump or part of the GOP.
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image.php
 
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