Furloughed Employee Files Suit Against Live Nation for Discrimination

Live Nation Entertainment has been named in a lawsuit by a furloughed executive in California who claims the company retaliated against her after she lodged complaints of racial and gender discrimination.

Candace N., Live Nation’s director of U.S. concerts and touring, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on July 8. In it, she claims a human resources investigation that began because of complaints she made was turned around to target her and that ultimately her furlough was a case of “wrongful termination,” a report by the industry publication, Variety, states.

“This case epitomizes the issue at the heart of the Black Lives Matter movement — systemic racism,” the suit alleges.

Live Nation responded to Candace’s allegations in a statement to Variety, calling her claims baseless and saying she has not actually been fired.

“We were surprised by [her] claim of wrongful termination, as she is still an employee at Live Nation,” Variety quoted the company as saying. “With concerts on pause due to the pandemic we unfortunately had to implement furloughs across our company, most heavily impacting our concerts division, but our furloughed staff are still valued employees, receiving healthcare and other benefits.”

Live Nation Lawsuit Allegations

Candace, who is Black, worked at Live Nation for the last 11 years, the trade publication Pollstar reported. She began as an executive assistant and worked her way up to be the head of the North American touring division. During her tenure, she says the company fostered “a toxic work environment of harassment, discrimination, and retaliating against employees …  who complain about a lack of diversity and race discrimination in the workplace.”

Candace was one of those employees, according to her lawsuit, having made a formal complaint of discrimination after finding that she was “scrutinized and criticized far more harshly than her non-Black and/or male peers,” among other mistreatment. But the ensuing investigation was turned on her and she was then accused of creating a hostile work environment.

Plaintiff Claims Live Nation Has a History of Discrimination

The lawsuit cites several experiences Candace claims are examples of Live Nation’s racial and gender discrimination in the workplace. In one instance dating back to 2015, the executive says she was forced to disband the company’s first women’s resource group, which she created, despite its popularity. More than 300 Live Nation employees had joined the Empower Network, but Candace was told only employees at a higher level were allowed to start resource groups, she claims.

In another instance, Candace says a 2016 memo issued by her two immediate supervisors, both “male Caucasians,” threatened termination due to poor performance even though she’d not been made aware of any problems before that. The supervisors, her lawsuit claims, had started out below her in the company, then were promoted above her while she remained “the only Black person working in the touring division at the time.”

Candace also says she became aware at one point that she was earning as much as 40 percent less than other “non-Black or male employees at a similar director level.” After complaining directly to Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, her pay was increased, but she never received any retroactive compensation, she claims.

Live Nation’s Response

Although Live Nation declined to comment on any of the specific allegations in the lawsuit, according to Variety and Pollstar, the company generally denied claims it treats employees unfairly.

“Any allegations of bias and discrimination in [Candace’s] claims are completely unfounded,” Live Nation’s statement to Variety said. “Live Nation is fully committed to being an anti-racist and equitable organization and we continuously strive to foster an environment where employees feel comfortable and empowered.”

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