Ann Callis, one of the attorneys representing Janel Grant in a civil complaint filed against Vince McMahon the former President of World Wrestling Entertainment in January, said Grant’s lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon has inspired other women in the wrestling industry to come forward with stories of abuse.
Callis credited Grant with allowing other women in the wrestling industry to reach out.
“I can say generally Janel has been courageous in speaking out about her situation,” Callis said. “Her hope is she is an example to other people who feel that they are not alone and they can speak out themselves and we have been seeing that. I have had several people contact me and we are doing vetting and going through that process.”
Callis said while other women have contacted her following Grant’s case, her federal civil suit against McMahon, John Laurinaitis and World Wrestling Entertainment is in a stay until December 11. This came after a request was made by the FBI and federal investigators who are looking into McMahon in a separate federal criminal case.
Callis, who said she couldn’t talk about Grant’s NDA specifically, spoke with SEScoops about non-disclosure agreements in general and the impact they’ve had on people in the work place.
“They have been weaponized and I think that’s why recent laws have been passed in order to protect men and women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted in the workplace,” Callis said.
In 2022, the Speak Out Act was passed making it illegal for non-disclosure agreements to prohibit men and women from coming forward if they were sexually harassed or assaulted.
A year earlier, Congress passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.
Callis said these laws don’t end contracted non-disclosure agreements automatically, but prevent them in the future in cases of NDAs signed at the onset of employment being used to silence someone who allegedly suffered sexual harassment or sexual assault.
But the new federal laws, as well as state laws, are aimed at protecting employees in these circumstances.
According to the American Bar Association, 82 percent of employees in the U.S. have signed arbitration agreements with their employers when they fill out paperwork starting a new job. Arbitration agreements are also part of many NDAs in discussing how disagreements should be handled.
Before the stay was issued in the McMahon civil suit, his counsel as well as Laurinaitis and WWE’s filed a motion for a hearing to determine whether Grant should be forced to air her grievances in an arbitration hearing in the NDA she signed.
This type of language isn’t just in NDAs, but in the fine print of paperwork and contracts signed by employees. Callis said many of these arbitration clauses aren’t upheld in court and recent legislation, court precendent should make people feel better about their situation if they want to fight in courrt.
“When you’re faced with a multi-national corporation or a multi-billion dollar company, there’s a lot of road blocks that you will see when you are faced with protecting your children and feeding them,” Callis said. “It’s an unfortunate situation people find themselves in but recent legislation, case law and precednet should make these people feel better about their situation.”
Most wrestlers are independent contractors despite meeting many of the conditions of being employees, according to descriptors set by the U.S. Department of Labor.
“Some companies want to characterize workers as independent contractors, but it’s not as clear cut,” Callis said. “In many of these instances the courts find they are indeed employees.”
Several lawsuits have been filed against WWE and World Championship Wrestling over independent contractor status in the last 24 years.
While Grant’s civil case has been under a stay in federal court, she filed a motion for a bill of discovery against Dr. Carlon Colker and his company Peak Wellness in July in Connecticut Superior Court.
Vince and Linda McMahon, as well as WWE, were named as plaintiffs in a suit filed weeks ago in Maryland by several alleged survivors of the 1980s ring boy scandal. The suit claimed the company and the McMahons were negligent in keeping predators away from children, who were hired as ring boys at the time and later accused WWE employees of sexually assaulting them.
McMahon, who is no longer affiliated with WWE, was reported to be looking to start a new entertainment company last week. Linda McMahon, despite being named in the Ring Boy lawsuit, is part of Donald Trump’s 2024 transition team as he prepares to take over the White House in January.
