Federal discrimination lawsuit by former KDKA reporter Dave Crawley is dismissed

A federal judge on Friday threw out an age discrimination lawsuit filed by longtime KDKA reporter Dave Crawley against KDKA-TV and parent company Viacom CBS.

Judge W. Scott Hardy granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, finding that Crawley was unable to prove that the station had discriminated against him based on his age.

Crawley, now 73, began working at KDKA-TV in 1988 and served as a special assignments reporter. In August 2017, he was assigned to cover the Red Bull Flugtag event at the Three Rivers Regatta, which involved participants taking flight in various contraptions off of a pier and landing in the river.

On Aug. 4, while plunging off the 22-foot pier, Crawley was hurt, suffering injuries to his spleen, diaphragm and a traumatic brain injury, he said in his lawsuit.

Although he returned to work for 10 days afterward, he collapsed while covering a story on Aug. 21, and was unable to work ever since.

Crawley filed for worker’s compensation, and when his contract expired in July 2018, it was not renewed by KDKA.

Crawley filed a lawsuit in March 2020, alleging that KDKA and CBS retaliated against him for filing the worker’s compensation claim. He also alleged age discrimination.

The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Crawley failed to prove age discrimination or retaliation.

On Friday, the judge agreed with the station, finding that Crawley could not show that their refusal to renew his contract involved a younger employee being treated better than he was.

Further, the court wrote in his 35-page opinion, Crawley admitted that he was unable to return to work as a reporter, and so therefore CBS had a “legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason” for not renewing his contract.

Although Crawley argued that younger reporters at KDKA received preferential treatment, Hardy wrote, “Plaintiff’s own mere beliefs in this regard cannot satisfy his burden.”

As for his retaliation claim, Crawley argued that KDKA excluded him from its 70th anniversary specials and failed to mention him on-air again after his medical leave of absence began.

But Hardy accepted KDKA’s explanation that it would not reference an employee’s medical condition on air without permission. He also found that Crawley could not prove that retaliation was the reason for not being included in the anniversary segments.

The judge left open the possibility of Crawley’s taking his retaliation claim for filing a worker’s compensation claim to state court.