A federal appeals panel will hear arguments Friday, May 13, in St. Louis on an employee of Nexstar station KARK in Little Rock's claim that her firing was a result of racial discrimination.
Lesa Davis was as production coordinator at KARK, creating graphics and backgrounds for news, weather, and sports, and other station functions, according to court documents.
She had worked on the station's morning program since the 1980s and had been with the station since 1977. In August 2003, she was assigned to the nightshift, which interfered with her other job with UPS, which she had held for more than 25 years.
She had to take a layoff from the company. Ms. Davis claims that white employees who had been with KARK for far less time than she, were allowed to choose reassignment on a seniority basis.
The U. S. District Court in Arkansas found in favor of Nexstar and dismissed the case on Sept. 30, 2004. Ms. Davis filed her appeal on Oct. 21. The appeal claims the U. S. District Court judge committed reversible error by "ignoring overwhelming disputes of material fact" that pointed toward intentional discrimination, by determining that her reassignment to the night shift was not discrimination, and by claiming there was "no genuine issue" for the racial discrimination claim.
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In the continuing quest to tell readers of this blog how much money the executives who run companies with area connections are pulling down, this bit of information was plucked from a proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday.
Ed Christian, CEO of Saga Communications, owner of KOAM and four other television stations, as well as radio stations across the United States, received $512,500 in salary and a bonus of $462,500 for the 2004 fiscal year, for a total of $973,000. The bonus was based on company performance, according to the filing. Saga's net revenue increased by 11 percent in 2003 and operating income increased 9.9 percent during that year. Net income for 2004 was $15.8 million, compared to $13.9 million for the previous year.
Christian's contract with the company expires in March 2009, the filing said. The agreement features health and life insurance premium payments, termination benefits, and a car allowance.
His base salary will increase to $530,000 this year, and if stockholders approve a bonus plan being submitted at the annual meeting next month, he can receive as much as half of that in bonus. However, his employment agreement indicates that the board of directors, at its discretion, can award him additional bonuses.
If Saga is sold, Christian's employment will end, and he will receive "an amount equal to five times the average of his total compensation for the receiving three years, plus an additional amount as is necessary for applicable income taxes related to the payment."
The filing indicates that if that were to happen now, Christian would receive a payout of approximately $4.6 million.