New York state sues Harvey Weinstein's company over sexual misconduct claims

New York's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against disgraced Harvey Weinstein and the Weinstein Company following an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

"As alleged in our complaint, The Weinstein Company repeatedly broke New York law by failing to protect its employees from pervasive sexual harassment, intimidation, and discrimination," state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in court papers.

Schneiderman launched a civil rights probe into the New York City-based company in October after The New York Times and The New Yorker exposed allegations of sexual assault and harassment spanning decades. The company later fired Weinstein.

"To work for Harvey Weinstein was to work under a persistent barrage of gender-based obscenities, vulgar name-calling, sexualized interactions, threats of violence, and a workplace general hostile to women," according to court papers.

Schneiderman's probe found that employees were subjected to various verbal threats from Weinstein such as "I will kill you, I will kill your family, and "you don't know what I can do."

In one case, the probe found that "in a fit of rage against one female employee, he yelled that she should leave the company and make babies since that was all she was good for."

Telephone and email messages seeking comment from Weinstein and the company were not immediately returned.

Representatives for Weinstein have previously denied all accusations of non-consensual sex.