LOS ANGELES — Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC Signature has agreed to pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit from the California Civil Rights Department that alleged sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of the CBS police drama "Criminal Minds," one of TV's longest-running series.
The department's lawsuit, filed in May 2020, alleged that over 14 years, Gregory St. Johns, director of photography for the series, "used his position of power to create an unchecked hostile work environment in which he subjected production crew members to frequent sexual harassment, including touching and caressing numerous employees."
The Civil Rights Department, in a statement issued last week, said that ABC Signature would also revise and distribute policies to all shows produced by the unit and take other steps to ensure there are no unaddressed complaints of harassment and retaliation on set. Additionally, the company will report on compliance annually to the department.
