Photo by Haxorjoe
The New York Times and its photography director Michele McNally have been hit with a lawsuit by former Times` photographer Robert Stolarik. The lawsuit claims that Stolarik, age 48, was discriminated against due to his age, and was also misclassified as a `full-time freelancer` for nearly a decade.
According to the complaint-which was filed on July 6th in New York and covered at that time by Bloomberg BNA-Stolarik began working for the Times as a photographer in Colombia in 2000, followed by additional work in Venezuela until 2002. Stolarik then resumed working for the Times in 2004, the legal document explains, ultimately resulting in nearly a decade of full-time work.
However, despite working full-time, the lawsuit claims that Stolarik was paid under a 1099-MISC form as a freelancer-a classification that deprived Stolarik of the benefits that would have come with full-time employment, including health insurance.
The complaint alleges that editors managed Stolarik in the same manner as employees, including giving specific start times for his assignments which regularly comprised 8-hour shifts. Stolarik claims that he was denied overtime pay for extended shifts and that he was not compensated for the time he was required to spend editing photos outside of his assignment hours.
The allegations continue from there, claiming that Stolarik `regularly sought` a staff photographer position with the NYT, making his desires known both in writing and orally. Age discrimination allegedly prevented him from getting a full-time role with the company, though. The complaint states that `Stolarik was told on numerous occasions by various editors that he was too old` to get the staff position he sought.
One Times editor is accused of having asked Stolarik if he was under 30 years old, abandoning an effort to get him a staff position after learning that he was, at the time, 37. Another editor reportedly told Stolarik that he should be ` ...
|
