Writers Refile Age Discrimination Suits

Viacom Inc.’s CBS, William Morris Agency Inc. and about 20 other television networks, producers and talent agencies face lawsuits claiming they stopped giving work to scriptwriters over the age of 40.

More than 150 writers refiled their suits about a month after a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that the writers could not sue the television companies in a single lawsuit. The new suits were filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming violations of state law.

The writers claim the 23 companies, including Walt Disney Co.’s Touchstone, General Electric Co.’s NBC and International Creative Management Inc., stopped giving them work once they turned 40 and replaced them with younger authors. The suits seek unspecified back pay, punitive damages and an order halting the alleged practice.

The suits say that while writers over 50 account for almost one-third of the Writers Guild of America’s membership, about 4% of shows in NBC’s 1997-98 broadcast season had writers credited in that age range.

Lawyers for the entertainment companies did not return calls seeking comment.