Oh, Bank Of America, if there is a Hell for corporations, I’m sure you’re on your way.
Bank of America will pay $39 million to settle claims it discriminated against women in its investment advice division, the company announced Friday evening. It is the bank’s second major settlement over employee discrimination claims in two weeks.
The money will be divvied up between roughly 4,800 women who worked at Bank of America and its subsidiary Merrill Lynch from 2007 onward. The suit alleged the companies had systematically pushed the most lucrative clients to men, undermining women’s compensation and professional opportunities in ways that violate anti-discrimination provisions of U.S. civil rights law.
Discrimination on Wall Street is not exclusive to gender. Last month, Merrill Lynch settled a racial discrimination case for $160 million for screwing over black investment brokers since 2001.
The champions of free markets.