Former NBC reporter says she was fired after complaining of harassment. Now she sues

A former NBC Boston investigative reporter says she was told to “deal” with a female co-worker’s harassment and demeaning behavior at the station after complaining about it — resulting in her firing.

In a new federal lawsuit, she argues NBC Boston fired her in 2019 “under the guise” of another reason, saying she didn’t promptly disclose her relationship with a local police chief.

However, Karen Hensel of Miami, Florida, maintains her relationship with the officer didn’t violate company policy and described how a male colleague, an assistant news director, wasn’t fired or subjected to discipline after failing to disclose his relationship with a subordinate journalist who also worked for NBC Boston, according to the suit.

Meanwhile, Hensel says the real reason for her firing was an act of retaliation for complaining about her female colleague, another investigative reporter, who created a “sexually-hostile work environment,” the complaint states. NBC Boston is accused of choosing to protect the co-worker and using Hensel’s relationship with the police chief as an excuse to fire her.

Now she is suing WBTS Television, which runs NBC10-Boston, its former news director who fired her, and NBC Universal, accusing the defendants of sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation, according to the complaint.

McClatchy News contacted WBTS Television and NBC for comment but received no reply on Nov. 15. Attorney contact information for NBC Boston’s former news director wasn’t immediately available.

Hensel’s lawsuit demands a trial by jury and seeks compensatory damages, costs and attorney fees to be awarded.

The case

In 2017, Hensel joined NBC Boston as an investigative reporter after moving from Indiana to Massachusetts, according to the complaint.

From 2017 to 2019, Hensel “was continuously subjected to a pattern and practice of ongoing harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation” and faced a sexually hostile work environment “primarily perpetuated by … another female investigative reporter,” the complaint states. The complaint did not identify this former co-worker of Hensel’s.

Hensel’s lawsuit argues the co-worker’s behavior was “designed and intended to interfere with (Hensel’s) work performance and career success in an effort to make (her) stand out as the leading female investigative reporter” instead of Hensel.

In May 2017, Hensel complained about her co-worker’s behavior to a supervising producer, the complaint states. In response, the producer told Hensel to “deal with (her) the best you can. You know how she is.”

Two years later, after Hensel received positive performance evaluations and commendations at work for her investigative reporting, she made another complaint to the station’s executive producer about her female co-worker’s “harassing conduct directed toward her and the ongoing sexually-hostile work environment at NBC10-Boston,” according to the complaint.

The executive producer made it known he was aware of the co-worker’s behavior, but did not address Hensel’s complaints, according to the lawsuit.

Hensel’s career at NBC Boston would end months after her female co-worker revealed how she was dating a local police chief, the complaint says. The co-worker told the station’s investigative unit producer, who told the station’s executive producer.

By February 2019, NBC Boston’s management staff knew of Hensel’s relationship with the officer, which she “has never denied,” the complaint states.

“From February to July 2019, neither ... (the executive producer) nor anyone at station management advised (Hensel) that her personal relationship with a local Police Chief posed a potential conflict of interest, required formal disclosure to her employer, and/or potentially violated any company or NBC rules or policies,” the complaint says.

However, in November 2019, NBC Boston’s former news director, who is named in the complaint, told Hensel that NBC received an anonymous tip regarding her relationship with the police chief, according to the complaint.

He said this anonymous tip, which he described as a “problem,” was likely due to the company’s new seating chart, which Hensel’s female co-worker was unhappy about, the complaint states.

Ten days later, the news director fired Hensel, saying she was violating company policies in connection with her relationship, according to the lawsuit.

The day she was fired, NBC Boston proceeded to run her news report and subsequently aired two more stories she worked on, the complaint says.

“In fact, three years later, the NBC10-Boston website continues to include active links to plaintiff’s investigative reporting,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit goes on to argue that her “personal relationship with a local Police Chief did not violate company policies or pose a potential conflict of interest,” and NBC Boston’s decision to fire her “was in retaliation for her engaging in protected activity – i.e., complaining to her supervisors and station management about the hostile work environment and harassment she was experiencing.”

Hensel’s complaint describes how she has won several awards for her reporting, including 11 Emmy awards.

Now she works as an investigative reporter for WSVN 7 News.

McClatchy News contacted Hensel’s attorney for an additional comment on Nov. 15.

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