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Is this really a standard practice? Fox's former director of Broadcast Standards & Practices claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that she was denied a promotion and subjected to disparaging treatment by her immediate supervisor because she is a woman. Linda Shima-Tsuno's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit claims Roland McFarland, Fox's vice president of Broadcast Standards & Practices, directed sexually derogatory comments and slurs toward her. He told Shima-Tsuno, for instance, that he didn't approve of her "incestuous relationship with producers," and that she shouldn't "jump into bed with producers," the lawsuit claims. McFarland also tried to undermine Shima-Tsuno's work by lying to her about instructions from Fox supervisors regarding the shows she edited, the suit maintains. The department edits shows to make sure they adhere to general broadcast standards, as well as those set by the company. Shows under Shima-Tsuno's supervision included THE X-FILES and THE SIMPSONS. McFarland would admonish her in front of co-workers for "inadequate" edits by allegedly saying they resulted in shows that are "too violent, too dark and no one will watch them" and "Fox has become like the WB."

Shima-Tsuno claims she reported McFarland's behavior to Fox, but his alleged harassing behavior continued. A human resources coordinator told her that an investigation of McFarland found no wrongdoing, but admitted that other women who were also allegedly harassed weren't interviewed, the lawsuit says. In March 1999, the seven-year veteran of the department, who says she received nothing but praise for her work from everyone but McFarland, was denied a promotion to executive director. In February of this year, she was terminated -- five months before her employment agreement expired -- because "she did not get along with Roland," the lawsuit says she was told. Shima-Tsuno's suit adds that Fox has refused to pay her for the remaining term of her contract unless she discloses where else she is applying for work -- a move that may thwart her job search effort. A Fox spokesman said the people best qualified to respond to the allegations weren't immediately available for comment. The suit, filed by Richard A. Love and Jennifer A. Zolezzi of Love & Shenfeld, seeks unspecified monetary damages.