Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television faced fresh legal problems in the United States on Tuesday, as two employees and a job applicant launched a legal action over claims the company failed to act on sexual harassment by a former bureau chief.
It follows previous lawsuits by former employees and interns, all of whom were seeking damages over the actions of Liu Zhengzhu, a former Washington bureau chief and once head of US operations for Phoenix.
The latest lawsuit was filed on the same day New York mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law new legislation that gives unpaid interns the same right as paid employees to sue over allegations they were harassed or discriminated against by their employers.
The legislation, which was passed by the New York City Council last month and will take effect in June, was proposed after a court ruled last year that a former female intern of Phoenix who was allegedly sexually harassed by Liu could not sue the company because she was not being paid.
Separately, four female employees launched a legal action in a Washington court against Phoenix last year.
Attorneys for the three women in the latest suit accuse Phoenix of employing Liu as head of operations in the United States for more than a decade despite being aware of sexual harassment allegations.
They accuse Liu, previously a United Nations reporter with state broadcaster China Central Television, of subjecting the women to "unwanted touching and obscene comments" at the office.
