The move came after Live Nation produced a 2009 letter in which plaintiff Candace Newman agreed to arbitrate disputes with the company.
A furloughed touring executive who sued Live Nation in July for race and gender discrimination and wrongful termination will have her case heard by a third-party arbitrator, according to court records in LA County Superior Court.
Candace Newman, 38, who identifies as an African American single mother, filed a lawsuit against the touring giant in July, alleging she was furloughed by the company after complaining about a lack of diversity and alleged race discrimination. Newman was one of more than 2,000 employees affected by job cuts at the company, where she had worked for more than 10 years, including her most recent stint as tour director for North America. Newman alleged she was “continually undervalued and undercompensated” and learned she was being paid between “one-third to forty percent less than her non-Black and/or male peers” at the company.
Live Nation officials called Newman’s claims of bias and discrimination “completely unfounded” and denied Newman had been furloughed out of retaliation. Live Nation later produced a letter Newman had signed in 2009 agreeing to arbitrate “any and all claims or controversies” between Newman and Live Nation” relating in any manner to my employment or the termination of my employment.”
An Aug. 27 filing with the court shows that Newman agreed to voluntarily move the case to binding arbitration; if she hadn’t, an attorney for Live Nation would have likely filed a motion to have the case moved to arbitration in accordance with the 2009 letter. Her civil lawsuit will be stayed and all hearings cancelled pending the outcome of the arbitration hearing.
