Parents of slain Ukrainian journalist sue Fox News and allege she was never paid

14 March 2024

Fox News has been hit with yet another lawsuit — this time from the parents of a producer who was killed on assignment in Ukraine, along with a security officer.

Journalist Ben Feuerherd first tweeted Thursday about the lawsuit against Fox News and its parent company NewsCorp, along with Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and owner Rupert Murdoch. The plaintiffs accused the network of not only endangering producer Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshnyova's life and covering it up, but with multiple workplace and labor violations.

"At least in the case of Kuvshnyova, the Ukrainian assistants were not hired legally according to Ukraine law, or to any known legal regime. There is no evidence that Kuvshnyova was ever paid during the two months she worked for Fox," the complaint alleges. "Kuvshnyova had no written contract of employment, insurance, health care, or worker's compensation coverage or equivalent benefits."

The complaint argued that Fox News "was taking advantage" of Kuvshnyova, and stated that her "parents were concerned during the period she worked for Fox that she was so anxious to win Fox's approval and future job prospects" that she allowed herself to be mistreated in the workplace.

Kuvshnyova's parents noted in the complaint that they received a letter from Suzanne Scott offering condolences for their daughter's death in March of 2022. Scott allegedly told them that if they wanted to receive the two months of back pay she was already entitled to after working for the network, that they had to sign paperwork that included an indemnification clause preventing them from taking any legal action against Fox News.

One notable paragraph in the filing Feuerherd tweeted accused the network of not following basic protocol required of employers. Plaintiffs alleged that "upon information and belief, Fox never registered as a company doing business in Ukraine or paid any taxes based on its workers' pay as required by Ukrainian law."

According to a copy of the summons Feuerherd tweeted, the lawsuit was filed by Andriy Kuvshnyov and Irina Mamaysur — Kuvshnyova's parents — in New York Supreme Court, as it is the "Defendant's Principal Place of Business." Co-plaintiff Shane Thomson also joined the lawsuit.

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