(Scypre.com) – In a developing legal battle, Stephanie Armour, a former health care reporter for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), has filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against her former employer, alleging unjust termination under the guise of performance issues. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, paints a picture of corporate cost-cutting measures that allegedly target employees with significant healthcare costs.
Armour, who was a prominent figure in the WSJ’s coverage of the pandemic, left the publication in May and subsequently joined KFF Health News. Her departure came amidst a series of layoffs orchestrated by WSJ’s Editor in Chief, Emma Tucker, despite the parent company, News Corp, reporting record profits in recent years.
According to Armour’s attorney, Rob Housman, the WSJ allegedly utilized fabricated performance metrics to justify terminating Armour, who had seniority and had been accommodated for disabilities such as post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorder. Housman suggested this may be part of a broader pattern within the organization: “It seems to me that that’s the pattern that’s occurring with this case and potentially – probably – with others.”
The WSJ responded through a spokesperson, stating, “We won’t comment on something we have not yet seen, but we are aware of what she has been alleging and believe it to be without merit. We note that Ms. Armour left the Journal on her own accord.”
Emma Tucker, who took over as editor-in-chief in early 2023, defended her leadership in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, emphasizing her mandate to modernize the WSJ amid a changing media landscape. “The corporate landscape is littered with companies that didn’t make the changes they needed to make,” she stated. “So I’m just like, Let’s do it now.”
Armour’s lawsuit also delves into disagreements over remote work accommodations, alleging that WSJ’s policies disproportionately affect employees with disabilities. Despite being allowed to work from home to manage her conditions—a practice authorized at previous employers like USA Today and Bloomberg News—Armour claims she faced retaliation from her editor, Janet Adamy, after a dispute in 2015.
The lawsuit highlights a sequence of events where Armour’s requests for remote work were initially granted, then later restricted, especially as WSJ revised its remote work policies in 2022. This, Armour argues, culminated in her placement on a formal performance warning shortly after receiving new remote work accommodations in April 2024.
In response to these claims, Armour’s lawyer contends that the WSJ set unrealistic expectations during her performance review, requiring her to produce a major news scoop every week—an expectation deemed unfeasible in the competitive field of journalism.
The lawsuit also suggests that Armour’s experience is not unique, pointing to alleged mistreatment of other veteran journalists within WSJ’s ranks. According to Armour, the WSJ’s actions have targeted other employees with high medical costs or accommodations, including combat veteran Ben Kesling.
Timothy Martell, executive director of the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees (IAPE), which represents WSJ’s newsroom, expressed concern over a perceived uptick in disciplinary actions against union members. “To have a doubling of anything in the IAPE-Dow Jones relationship is something we are going to pay attention to,” Martell remarked, noting that such actions seemed disproportionate following WSJ’s record financial performance.
As the legal proceedings unfold, Armour’s lawsuit not only challenges WSJ’s employment practices but also raises broader questions about workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities and the ethics of cost-cutting strategies in profitable corporations.