Bank of America Sued for Stiffing Female Brokers on Bonuses
Bank of America, which acquired the former Merrill Lynch and Co. last year, discriminated against female brokers by offering them lower retention benefits than their male colleagues and steering wealthier investors to brokers who were men, according to a newly filed lawsuit.
The suit was filed today on behalf of Jaime Goodman, a Merrill broker since 1992 who joined Bank of America when the bank acquired Merrill on January 1, 2009. Goodman claims her new bosses demonstrated gender bias against her and other female employees.
She is seeking class-action status for her suit, which if granted would allow other women who claim they were similarly harmed by Bank of America’s allegedly discriminatory practices to join in the litigation.
Gender-Based Bias Alleged
In her suit, Goodman accuses Bank of America of stacking the deck against female brokers when it comes to awarding performance-based bonuses. The wealthiest investment clients are directed to male brokers, so the performance bonus system “disproportionately disadvantages women and advantages white men as favored employees,” the complaint said.
Companies often offer retention bonuses to employees of companies being acquired, but Goodman accuses Bank of America of giving her and other former Merrill female workers lower retention bonuses compared to those offered to male workers.
“The idea of a retention bonus is to retain the best and the brightest,” said Linda Friedman, Goodman’s attorney, according to a Reuters news service report. “Bank of America acquired a company that had a history of mistreatment. Rather than acknowledge that, and be part of the solution to level the playing field, Bank of America picked up where Merrill Lynch left off.”
Bank Denies Wrongdoing
A Bank of America spokeswoman denied the allegations in Goodman’s suit, defended the bank’s performance-based bonus and retention programs, and said the bank will fight the lawsuit in court.
“The adviser transition program was merit-based and implemented fairly and equally for men and women,” said Shirley Norton. “We do not tolerate discrimination.”
Goodman’s suit seeks compensatory damages totaling the compensation and benefits she claims she lost as the result of Bank of America’s biased policies as well as punitive damages designed to punish the bank for its conduct and other legal remedies.
Another financial firm, Citigroup Inc, last year agreed to pay $33 million to settle similar charges in a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of about 2,500 female brokers at its Smith Barney unit.
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