In astatement, CNN said that "After more than a decade of litigation,negotiation and appeals we are pleased to have resolved alongstanding legal matter." (Photo:f11photo/Shutterstock.com)

CNN will pay $76 million in back pay to a group of former videocontractors whose contract was terminated in 2003, according to asettlement signed Friday.

The money, which will go to more than 300 former contractors, isthe largest monetary remedy in the history of the NLRB and is moremoney than the board typically collects in an entire year,according to its news release.

The workers were represented by two union locals of the NationalAssociation of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CommunicationsWorkers of America when CNN terminated the contract. The newschannel then hired nonunion employees to do the same work,according to the NLRB.

Related: NLRB: No 'shorthand formula' to separate employeesfrom contractors

"CNN sought to operate as a nonunion workplace and conveyed tothe workers that their prior employment with (Team Video Services)and union affiliation disqualified them from employment," the NLRBsaid.

In a statement, CNN said that "After more than a decadeof litigation, negotiation and appeals we are pleased to haveresolved a longstanding legal matter."

The president of NABET-CWA, Charlie Braico, said in astatement that he hopes the settlement sends a message to otheremployers.

NABET-CWA had threatened to picket the Jan. 14 Democratic debatein Iowa, which will be hosted by CNN. In a press release,CWA president Chris Shelton thanked the Democratic candidates fortheir plans to honor the picket line.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found in 2017 that CNN did show anti-unionanimus in its hiring processes, but the circuit court remanded thequestion of back pay to the NLRB. Kannon Shanmugam, then atWilliams & Connolly, handled oral arguments in that appeal.

Peter Robb, general counsel to the NLRB, celebrated thesettlement in a statement.

"The settlement demonstrates the board's continued commitment toenforcing the law and ensuring employees who were treated unfairlyobtain the monetary relief ordered by the board," Robb said.

CNN and the union were involved in the National LaborRelations Board's alternative dispute resolution program for morethan a year and a half, but that process ended in November withoutan agreement, according to the CWA.

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