Rape, Revenge Porn Allegations Can’t Escape New York’s Exclusivity Doctrine

Case File

Allegations of forcible rape, revenge porn, and more could not support a negligent supervision action against Fox News due to New York's exclusive remedy provision. Simply Research subscribers have access to the full text of the decision.

Case

Eckhart v. Fox News Network, LLC, No. 20-cv-5593 (RA) (S.D.N.Y. 03/12/25)

What Happened

An administrative assistant at Fox News, Jennifer Eckhart, asserted claims that she was subjected to sexual harassment, sex trafficked, and became the victim of revenge porn at the hands of Fox on-air personality Ed Henry.

Among the allegations in the case, Henry was reported to have:

+ Sent Eckhart sexually explicit text messages, pornographic images, and videos depicting "women getting slapped" and "abused."

+ Raped Eckhart in a hotel room, throwing her against a wall, undressing her, and throwing himself on top of her.

+ Forcibly kissing Eckhart in an office.

+ Forcefully raped Eckhart in another hotel room where he "violently" hit in her in the face multiple times before taking off his belt and whipping her several more. After this encounter, Eckhart's wrists and lip were bleeding and she had whip marks all over her body.

Several years later, Eckhart was terminated from Fox for purported performance issues.

Eckhart sued, claiming among other things, negligent supervision on the basis of her experience with Henry and that of several other women who worked at Fox News and were alleged to have had affairs marked by similar circumstances with him.

Rule of Law

Under the New York Workers' Compensation Law, the right to compensation or benefits shall be the exclusive remedy to an employee when the employee is injured or killed by the negligence or wrong of another in the same employ.

What the Court Said

Eckhart's negligent supervision claim, in the court's view, couldn't escape the exclusive remedy rules under the New York Workers' Compensation Law. The court, citing Ferris v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 277 F.3d 128 (2d Cir. 2001), which rejected a negligent supervision claim brought by a flight attendant alleging that a coworker raped her, ruled against Eckhart.

The Ferris case wasn't the first to reach such a conclusion and was preceded by other cases:

Torres v. Pisano, 116 F.3d 625 (2d Cir. 1997). The New York Workers' Compensation Law barred a common law negligence claim that was asserted on the basis of an alleged hostile work environment because of coworker harassment.

Ross v. Mitsui Fudosan, Inc., 2 F. Supp. 2d 522 (S.D.N.Y. 1998). New York common law negligence claims arising out of a sexual harassment lawsuit were barred by the exclusive remedy provisions of the New York Workers' Compensation Law.

Burlew v. Am. Mut. Ins. Co., 472 N.E. 2d 682 (N.Y. 1984). All employer conduct that is regulated by the Workers' Compensation Law is subject to the protection of that law's exclusivity; if the employer violates any provision of the code, an employee's remedies cannot exceed those granted in the statutes.

As a result, Eckhart's negligent supervision claim was a no-go.

Verdict: The court granted summary judgment to Fox News on Eckhart's negligence supervision claim.

Takeaway

Workers' compensation law in New York left Eckhart unable to sue based on exclusive remedy principles.

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