In the wake of Les Moonves’ departure from CBS, a period of truth and reconciliation is apparently underway.
CBS sources tell TMZ that employees at the broadcasting behemoth have recently received a voluntary 100-question survey on “cultures and values” in the company, which includes questions asking employees if they’ve ever been sexually harassed or assaulted by someone at CBS, if they ever reported it, and if they ever felt threatened by management.
Moonves was booted from his role in September after he was accused of sexual misconduct in the workplace.
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In all, 12 women accused Moonves of various forms of sexual misconduct, including forcing them to engage in oral sex.
Since then, reports in The New York Times have alleged that Moonves destroyed evidence and attempted to silence a potential accuser by offering her acting roles.
The allegations range from physical violence and intimidation to claims Moonves forced his accusers to perform oral sex on him and exposed himself without their consent.
Several women said Moonves sabotaged their careers after they rejected his advances, according to the report.
The new survey may be seen as an attempt to establish whether sexual assault had become institutionalized within the company.
Employees who had reported an incident were asked if they felt their complaint was properly handled and if the behavior occurred again.
One employee described the survey to TMZ as “an attempt to repair what has become such a broken network.”
CBS announced Monday that Moonves will be denied the entirety of his $120 million severance package.
After an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct, the CBS Board of Directors said, “We have determined that there are grounds to terminate for cause, including his willful and material misfeasance, violation of Company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the Company’s investigation.”
The statement added, “Mr. Moonves will not receive any severance payment from the Company.”
Moonves’ lawyer responded to the statement by saying the conclusions were “foreordained,” adding, “Consistent with the pattern of leaks that have permeated this ‘process,’ the press was informed of these baseless conclusions before Mr. Moonves, further damaging his name, reputation, career and legacy. Mr. Moonves vehemently denies any nonconsensual sexual relations and cooperated extensively and fully with investigators.”
Moonves’ wife, Julie Chen, remains at the network as the host of Big Brother, but left The Talk shortly after her husband resigned in September.
