JP Morgan Chase accused of gender discrimination
A financial advisor to JPMorgan Chase has sued the banking giant, alleging that officials violated federal employment laws by discriminating against her because she is a woman.
Lawyers for 53-year-old Gwendoline Campbell said in a lawsuit that JPMorgan is creating a difficult work environment, accusing management of allowing the company’s male financial advisors to “steal” its clients, allowing her to hold key meetings. and is “slandered” in front of Campbell. Associate.
Campbell’s attorneys, Douglas Vigdor and Michael Willemin of Vigdor LLP, filed a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) last week. JP Morgan is based in New York, but Campbell works from home in California.
“Ms Campbell’s EEOC filing against JP Morgan describes a complete lack of control and accountability at the bank on issues of discrimination, harassment and basic human decency and respect,” Vigdor and Willemin said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. “The fact that the alleged conduct has continued for more than a year and a half without any remedy is appalling.”
Willemin said Campbell tried to prevent coworkers from contacting her clients by filing a restraining order against some employees. A judge denied that request in December, prompting Campbell to file a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, he said.
JPMorgan declined to comment on Campbell’s allegations, but declined to pass the judge’s restraining order.
“A federal court has already spoken on many of these matters,” the company said in a statement to CBS Moneywatch. “As we have previously reported, we will investigate any employee concerns that escalate.”
JPMorgan Chase is the largest US bank, with assets of approximately $3 trillion.
“openly condemned me”
Campbell, who joined JPMorgan in October 2020 after previous stints at Goldman Sachs, UBS and Merrill Lynch, detailed her allegations on Medium on April 29.
“I was targeted because of my gender even before my first day,” she wrote. “I learned from my colleague that my soon-to-be manager openly humiliated me by telling coworkers that he preferred to hire a male financial advisor, but was told that he had to ‘hire a woman. Was.’ This statement robbed my credibility and undermined my 30 years of achievements even before I even walked in the door.”
Campbell also alleged that some male co-workers preyed upon their clients by offering them large loans with favorable terms. Campbell said in his post, “One client, after offering a person at a private bank a $50 million loan to take assets away from me, continued to watch JPMorgan attack me.”
The lawsuit states that losing those customers “denies Campbell literally millions of dollars in compensation as a result of customer transactions by other divisions of the bank.”
Campbell’s lawyers said they are now waiting to see if the EEOC launches an investigation.
Wall Street has long faced allegations of gender bias. Bank of America agreed to pay $39 million in 2013 to settle a gender discrimination case in which female brokers alleged they were paid less than their male co-workers.
A 2019 report by pro-labor non-profit group Good Jobs First found that banks rank first among US corporations in dealing with gender discrimination and sexual harassment cases.
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Christopher J. Brooks
