Today’s Advisor contains a guest column that first appeared on HR.BLR.com, called Lessons from JPMorgan Chase’s $1.45 million EEOC settlement.
By Jamie A. LaPlante
In a much-publicized case, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) obtained a $1.45 million settlement on behalf of female employees who worked in JPMorgan Chase’s Columbus, Ohio, office. The EEOC alleged that the women were subjected to a hostile work environment and were denied lucrative sales leads and training opportunities.
Employers can learn two lessons from this case. First, your method of distributing sales leads, customers, and territories should be defensible. Second, documents should be preserved as soon as litigation is anticipated.
The Facts
Aimee Doneyhue worked in JPMorgan Chase’s Columbus office as a mortgage consultant, a commission-based sales position. She alleged that her manager and other supervisors subjected her to abusive and harassing behavior based on her sex. She alleged that she was called “prego,” “big fat Mama,” “hormonal,” and “idiot,” among other things. She also claimed her manager questioned whether she could make it in the “boys club.”
Doneyhue complained about the managers’ behavior. She claimed her commissions and loan assignments were tampered with, and she was subjected to heightened scrutiny and continued ridicule after she filed her complaint. She was terminated in May 2008.
Doneyhue filed an EEOC charge alleging discrimination and retaliation. The EEOC found probable cause in her charge and filed suit against JPMorgan Chase in September 2009. The lawsuit, which was a class action, was filed on behalf of female employees who worked in the company’s consumer direct sales department.
Are you dealing with complaints about sexism in your workplace? Learn how to avoid costly litigation in the upcoming webinar, “Sexism in the Workplace,” April 29. Find out more.
The EEOC alleged that JPMorgan Chase assigned sales calls to men and women in an unfair way, which directly affected female employees’ ability to earn bonuses and commissions. The agency also claimed the company permitted a hostile work environment based on sex. JPMorgan Chase attempted to limit the class to the female employees who worked under Doneyhue’s manager, but the lawsuit was allowed to continue as filed.
The EEOC obtained sanctions against JPMorgan Chase for failing to preserve “telephone skill log-in data” records relating to the assignment of loans. The company argued that the data were purged as a result of its routine destruction of electronically stored information. However, a court was unsympathetic, holding that (1) JPMorgan Chase had notice of the scope of EEOC’s claims and (2) its failure to preserve the data was “inexcusable” and the result of negligence that bordered on intentional conduct.
If the case had gone to trial, the court would have instructed a jury that it could view the absence of the records in a way that was detrimental to JPMorgan Chase’s case. Thus, a jury would have been free to infer that the data indicated that loans were assigned discriminatorily. The court also precluded JPMorgan Chase from requesting summary judgment (pretrial dismissal).
JPMorgan Chase Settles
JPMorgan Chase and the EEOC ultimately resolved the case before trial. The result was a $1.45 million settlement, including $470,000 in punitive damages. The EEOC has the discretion to distribute the settlement among 16 claimants. In addition, JPMorgan Chase is required to institute an automatic call distribution system and maintain records regarding the system and the assignment of calls to mortgage consultants.
The company must also report allegations of sexual harassment to the EEOC and conduct discrimination, harassment, and retaliation training for managers and supervisors for at least 2 years. Finally, it must post a notice of its harassment, discrimination, and retaliation obligations to employees.
Learn how you can eliminate key risk factors for sexism in your workplace at the upcoming webinar, “Sexism in the Workplace”, on Tuesday, April 29, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Sign up here.
Lessons Learned
Lesson 1. It is difficult to ensure equity in the assignment of leads, customers, and territories because sales opportunities are not amenable to exact divisions, and many variables determine who is the right salesperson for each job. However, such assignments directly affect the ability of sales personnel to earn commissions and bonuses.
Sales leads, customers, and territories should be assigned equally based on legitimate nondiscriminatory criteria (e.g., experience with a territory or customers, skill level, product knowledge, and tenure). More important, your method of assigning sales leads, customers, and territories should be defensible if challenged, and training and advancement opportunities should be available to all employees.
Lesson 2. Take steps to preserve both electronic and paper documents as soon as litigation is anticipated. That includes ceasing regular destruction of electronic documents. Take steps at the first sign of possible litigation—e.g., when you receive a letter threatening litigation or a notice that a charge of discrimination has been filed.
Document preservation efforts should be expanded as soon as the litigation’s scope is broadened. Failing to preserve documents can turn a potentially strong case into a weak one or lead to adverse inferences about lost evidence and whether the evidence would have been helpful to the opposing side.
Jamie LaPlante is a Senior Associate with Porter Wright and can be reached at jlaplante@porterwright.com or 614-227-2085.
No More ‘Mad Men’!
The “Mad Men” mentality concerning women’s roles in the workplace is perceived to be long gone. However, costly lawsuits and administrative proceedings based on actual or perceived sexual harassment and discrimination continue to plague employers.
As we’ve just read in the JPMorgan Chase case, sexism in the workplace can be extremely costly. But even beyond the costs of litigation, sexism can have a demoralizing effect on employees, one that breeds apathy and resentment, destroying productivity and creating high turnover rates.
Don’t let this happen to you. Participate in this interactive webinar and learn how you can eliminate key risk factors for sexism in your workplace:
Sexism in the Workplace: Reduce Your Risk for Costly Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, and Unequal Pay Claims
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern/10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific
You and your colleagues will learn:
- Examples of sexist attitudes and behaviors that could raise red flags with the EEOC, a judge, or a jury
- Ways your organization can foster a more inclusive environment so you can minimize risk
- The limited defenses to equal pay claims and how to successfully establish an “affirmative defense” to an equal pay claim based on gender
- How to identify conduct that could lead to charges of sexual harassment or a sexually hostile work environment
- Strategies to eradicate negative, hostile, and unequal treatment from your workplace
- And more!