Ousted Grammys CEO Claims Rampant Discrimination and Bias in ‘Boys Club’ 

One of the many perks of this column is that I get to wax poetically and write about interesting employment law topics once a month. That, plus the dental plan (spoiler: there is no dental plan). The column provides a nice respite from the pettifoggery of lawyering. Every so often I will come across a topic that happens to span two of my law practice areas, employment law and entertainment law. While it doesn’t happen often because of the unique nature of each of the disciplines, when it does, it’s usually a doozy of a topic.

In today’s edition of employment law meets the entertainment industry, the topic du jour is a highly inflammatory discrimination, harassment and retaliation charge filed by the former president and CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Recording Academy). The Recording Academy is best known for the Grammy Awards. Ousted CEO, Deborah Dugan, filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging sexual harassment by the Recording Academy’s general counsel, Joel Katz. The claims do not end there, though. In her 45-page EEOC charge, Dugan details what she calls “egregious conflicts of interest, improper self-dealing by board members, and voting irregularities with respect to nominations for Grammy Awards, all made possible by the ‘boys’ club’ mentality and approach to governance at the academy.”