A longtime anchor at Boston’s CBS affiliate has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the network of demoting her to satisfy corporate “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) quotas, effectively ending her career.
Katherine Merrill Dunham, better known to viewers as Kate Merrill, filed her complaint in Boston federal court on August 5.
She alleges that WBZ-TV, under pressure from parent companies CBS and Paramount Global, “exploited” DEI policies and punished her for being white to advance the corporations’ DEI agenda.
The lawsuit cites internal comments by CBS executives who claimed WBZ was “too white,” “the least diverse station for on-air talent,” and the “whitest of all their stations.”
In 2021, CBS publicly pledged that “diversity, equity, and inclusion standards need to be a top priority for leadership in every corner.”
According to the complaint, those policies directly led to staffing decisions at WBZ.
In September 2023, the station hired black meteorologist Jason Mikell.
Meanwhile, white meteorologist Zack Green was let go because the color of his skin didn’t align with the far-left ideology.
The lawsuit also details alleged misconduct by Mikell, who is named as a defendant.
In February 2024, Mikell made an inappropriate sexual innuendo about Merrill on air, suggesting she had engaged in sexual relations with her co-anchor “at a gazebo.”
According to the lawsuit, Mikell faced no discipline for the remark.
Two months later, Merrill privately corrected Mikell over text for mispronouncing “Concord.”
She alleges that Mikell “loudly yelled at her on the studio floor” in response, with an “aggressive and unprofessional” tone.
Merrill says she filed a complaint with Human Resources, but WBZ, CBS, and Paramount failed to investigate.
Instead, she was told an investigation was underway into accusations that she treated coworkers differently because of their race.
The allegations, including claims that Merrill failed to ask Mikell about his weekends and once said he would “find his people” in Boston, were described in the complaint as “false,” “misleading,” and “lodged with malice and/or improper motive.”
Merrill was soon informed that she would be demoted from her high-profile role as co-anchor of WBZ’s weekday morning show to weekend nights.
She was advised by her union and colleagues that this shift amounted to “career sabotage.”
Facing what she called a “constructive discharge,” Merrill resigned on May 24, 2024.
Her contract with WBZ runs until June 2025 and includes a non-compete clause, leaving her unable to work in her field until then.
Merrill says the demotion and allegations have inflicted catastrophic reputational harm, financial loss, and emotional distress.
She is also seeking compensation for 20 unused vacation days.
The lawsuit comes just weeks after Paramount, CBS’s parent company, announced it would eliminate DEI policies as part of its merger with Skydance Media.
For Merrill, the move comes too late, however.
She argues that the network’s DEI push not only cost her job but also permanently derailed a career built over decades.
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