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Ex-WBZ anchor Kate Merrill drops claims against one Black colleague in discrimination lawsuit
The two colleagues initially named as defendants had filed complaints against Merrill, she said, accusing her of making racist remarks. One is no longer named as a defendant.
Kate Merrill, the former WBZ anchor who filed a discrimination lawsuit earlier this year, dropped her claims against one of the two Black employees named as defendants in the federal suit.
Merrill, who joined WBZ in 2004, served as the co-anchor of the morning and noon news from 2017 until her abrupt departure in June of 2024. She filed a lawsuit in August, claiming she was discriminated against as a white woman.
She was demoted, a move that precipitated her resignation, after two former colleagues filed a complaint against her, she alleges in the lawsuit. CBS employees Courtney Cole and Jason Mikell, who are both Black and allegedly accused Merrill of making racist remarks, were among the defendants.
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Merrill voluntarily dismissed her claims against Cole last week, according to the court docket. Mikell remains a defendant.
Merrill’s lawyer, Patricia Washienko, did not return a request for comment on Wednesday. WBZ, Paramount, and Mikell also did not respond.
Companies CBS and Paramount, her superior at the station Justin Draper, and Vice President of Employee Relations Michael Roderick were also all named as defendants, and none have responded to the lawsuit, according to records.
Lawsuit: Coworkers accused Merrill of making racist remarks
In the lawsuit, Merrill alleges that both Cole and Mikell were promoted ahead of or replaced white employees “because the show was not diverse enough,” the lawsuit said. Before Merrill left the station, both Cole and Mikell filed simultaneous complaints that she “treated coworkers differently because of their race.”
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Cole alleged that Merrill recommended she work in Nashville, where Merrill used to work, and be the main anchor there.
“Cole apparently interpreted as a suggestion that she go to Nashville because it would be a better racial fit for Defendant Cole (who is Black) rather than a comment about career opportunities and how much she (Ms. Merrill) enjoyed Nashville,” the lawsuit said.
Mikell’s allegations of racism include Merrill telling him that he would “find his people” in Boston and that she was “always” critical of him, did not ask him about his weekends, and said he could be a garbage collector during “dirty job” banter about his jobs segment, according to the lawsuit.
To Roderick, Merrill defended her statements, saying that “all my garbage collectors are white” and that Nashville is not a majority-minority city, the lawsuit said.
Meteorologist at CBS is still a defendant
Mikell allegedly made an inappropriate sexual innuendo on air in February of 2024, implying Merrill “and her co-anchor had sexual relations at a gazebo,” according to the lawsuit. The news director allegedly did nothing about the remark.
After Merrill privately corrected Mikell’s on-air pronunciation of “Concord” via text, Mikell allegedly “immediately confronted Ms. Merrill, loudly yelling at her on the studio floor and asserting that she was being critical of him” in April 2024, the lawsuit said. “His tone was aggressive and unprofessional. Ms. Merrill immediately lodged a complaint with WBZ’s Human Resources department.”
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Cole and Mikell’s simultaneous complaints of racism came a week after Merrill said she filed an HR complaint against Mikell, the lawsuit alleges.
After the complaints, the longtime anchor was demoted from the weekday morning show to working weekend nights, according to the lawsuit, which was “career ending.” Merrill submitted a constructive discharge resignation shortly after.
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