Harvey Weinstein & TWC Sued by N.Y. Attorney General for Civil Rights Violations (UPDATE)

5:06 PM PT -- Weinstein's lawyer, Ben Brafman, tells TMZ, "We believe that a fair investigation by Mr. Schneiderman will demonstrate that many of the allegations against Harvey Weinstein are without merit. While Mr. Weinstein's behavior was not without fault, there certainly was no criminality, and at the end of the inquiry it will be clear that Harvey Weinstein promoted more women to key executive positions than any other industry leader and there was zero discrimination at either Miramax or TWC."

The statement goes on ... "If the purpose of the inquiry is to encourage reform throughout the film industry, Mr. Weinstein will embrace the investigation. If the purpose, however, is to scapegoat Mr. Weinstein, he will vigorously defend himself."

Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company are being sued by the New York attorney general for alleged civil rights violations in the workplace.

New York's AG, Eric Schneiderman, just filed suit against Harvey, his brother Bob Weinstein, and the entire Weinstein Co., alleging they violated the state's civil rights laws and NYC's human rights laws during the disgraced movie producer's time there.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Schneiderman says Harvey persistently sexually harassed female employees at TWC by personally creating a hostile work environment and demanding quid pro quo sexual favors for continued employment or career advancement.

He goes on to allege that Harvey used his position at TWC, as well as female employees and company resources, to serve his sexual interests with other women seeking employment or business opportunities with TWC.

Schneiderman also accuses TWC's human resources department of essentially being non-existent ... while going on to claim Bob and the rest of the board of directors were complicit in Harvey's operation by ignoring credible evidence presented to them time and again.