Lawsuits allege ‘sexually hostile’ culture, underpayment at Project Veritas

Employees of Project Veritas, a conservative media organization known for publishing undercover videos, filed two lawsuits Sunday alleging illegal business practices and accusing leaders of fostering a “sexually hostile work environment.” The class-action lawsuit filed by Antonietta Zappier, Nick Gioia and Dan Schuy in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleges Project Veritas failed to pay them a minimum wage for hours they worked overtime, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Zappier additionally says she was fired by Project Veritas after she was sexually assaulted and harassed by Michael Spadone, a field director for the group, according to another lawsuit she filed in the same courthouse.

She alleged in court documents that her termination came after she “rejected Spadone’s entreaties to spend the weekend with him at his home for a sexual liaison.” She also describes a “highly sexualized” workplace and “sexually hostile work environment” at Project Veritas. Zappier, 61, was an administrative assistant at Project Veritas for 2.5 years. The Hill has reached out to Project Veritas for comment. In a statement to The New York Times, Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe described Zappier as a “disgruntled” former employee and called her claims “a range of made-up falsehoods.” Project Veritas is known for undercover sting operations and so-called exposés often targeting media organizations such as CNN and The Washington Post in an attempt to paint them as biased, left-wing activists. Project Veritas has been accused of deceptively editing videos and making exaggerated or false claims in its content. The media group is embroiled in a legal battle with the Times over articles the newspaper published about a video accusing Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) of voter fraud, which The Times wrote was deceptive.