NEW YORK, July 30 /EMWNews/ -- Myriam Ayala, a respected,

long-tenured television journalist with twenty-five years of accomplished

experience, has filed a complaint in federal court alleging discrimination

on the bases of her sex, age, race, color and in retaliation for opposing

discrimination.



    Ayala's complaint states she has been subjected to discriminatory and

retaliatory behavior at Univision TV Channel 41. She has worked for the

station since 1983, and has an unblemished record of outstanding job

performance and highly rated stories. Ayala, a 57-year-old woman, is

currently the oldest female news reporter at Univision Channel 41.



    Despite her outstanding record as a television journalist, Ayala has

been subjected to a discriminatory work environment where males and younger

females are consistently favored for more valuable positions. Instead of

being appreciated for her long years of invaluable service and recognized

for her experience, Ayala has been removed from her long established day

schedule and placed into a 3:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. overnight shift (which is

currently the 2:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. shift). Her day shift was instead

given to a younger female reporter. In response to Ayala's complaints of

discriminatory action, Univision permanently placed her in the overnight

shift.



    Ayala has also been given less on-air assignments, has been featured in

less newspaper promotions and has had no opportunity for in-depth reporting

on "series" stories. Ayala's interviews are often used by other reporters

(males and younger females) as part of their own broadcasts, and she is

given no credit for these segments, which is akin to a demotion for an

individual of her professional stature and experience.



    Ayala is seeking compensatory and punitive damages as a result of this

unlawful degradation to the terms and conditions of her employment that has

caused her a loss in salary and benefits, extreme emotional distress and

injury to her reputation.



    Tuckner, Sipser, Weinstock & Sipser, LLP, is a Women's Rights in the

Workplace law boutique in NYC. For more information about the case, or to

obtain a copy of the state court complaint, contact Jack Tuckner or William

Sipser at 212.766.9100 or at [email protected] or

[email protected].