A former CBS Boston anchor is suing her former place of employment. But just wait until we tell you why.
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Per court documents obtained by the Boston Herald, Kate Merrill — a white woman — is alleging that she was pushed out of her job at WBZ-TV, a position she held for 20 years. She’s suing her former job over claims of racial and gender discrimination of which she alleges stems from DEI hiring policies.
“In the early 2020s, WBZ-TV, adopted diversity, equity and inclusion policies imposed by its parent corporations Columbia Broadcasting System and Paramount Global, Inc.,” her lawsuit reads. “In 2024, WBZ-TV exploited such policies and took career-ending action against Ms. Merrill to advance a DEI agenda.”
Specifically, the suit references an incident between Merrill and Black WBZ-TV meteorologist Jason Mikell in which she texted him during commercial break to correct him on the proper pronunciation of some local cities he had allegedly said wrong on-air moments before.
For context, Merrill claims Mikell came to her previously for help with the matter.
Well, that text apparently didn’t sit well with Mikell and the suit claims he “immediately confronted Ms. Merrill, loudly yelling at her on the studio floor and asserting that she was being critical of him.”
“His tone was aggressive and unprofessional. Ms. Merrill immediately lodged a complaint with WBZ’s Human Resources department,” the suit reads.
Additionally, Merrill also allegedly filed a second complaint against Mikell after she claimed he made an on-air comment that suggested she “had slept with a co-anchor in a gazebo,” per the Daily Mail,
But instead of looking into the incident on Merrill’s behalf, she claims that the station instead launched an investigation to look into if Merrill herself was treating her coworkers differently because of their race.
Another alleged incident that transpired between a different Black anchor and Merrill led to the station allegedly concluding that her behavior was “grounded in microaggressions or unconscious bias” and led to a “very unwelcoming work environment.”
As a result, Merrill was made to complete unconscious bias training and obtained a written warning.
Shortly after, the suit alleges that Merrill was demoted from her position as co-anchor for WBZ This Morning and WBZ News at Noon to working the night shift on weekends. She ultimately decided to resign from her job near the end of May 2024, citing the “catastrophic damage a demotion would have caused her career, especially in the context of allegations that she was racist.”
The suit also alleges that she “suffered significant financial losses” and “significant reputational harm” due to the fact that her employment agreement with the station didn’t expire until June 2025 and she was under a non-compete provision. This essentially meant she couldn’t do similar work in her industry until the agreement was over.
In defense of Merrill, the suit goes on to describe the relationship between Merrill and her former Black colleagues. It explained that she regularly befriended them regardless of their race and made it a point to keep herself educated “on issues of systemic racism, microaggressions and unconscious bias. She is anti-racist.”
Merrill is seeking $4 million in damages. CBS, Paramount, then-general manager Justin Draper, and then-VP of employee relations at Paramount, Michael Roderick are all named as defendants in the suit. Neither WBZ, CBS, nor Paramount have commented on the matter.
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