By Jonathan Stempel and Nate Raymond
NEW YORK, Dec 27 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Friday
approved Bank of America Corp’s $39 million settlement
of a gender discrimination lawsuit by female brokers over
objections that the accord would enshrine bias on Wall Street.
U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn, New York,
called the settlement “in all respects, fair, reasonable, and
adequate.”
The settlement, announced on Sept. 6, resolved claims on
behalf of about 4,800 current and former female financial
advisers that women were paid less than men, deprived of
handling their fair share of lucrative accounts and faced
retaliation if they complained.
It is separate from the bank’s $160 million settlement with
hundreds of black Merrill Lynch & Co brokers who alleged racial
bias in pay, promotions and how big accounts were allocated.
Bank of America bought Merrill in January 2009.
The gender bias accord also required Bank of America to hire
an independent monitor to oversee improvements and a consultant
to study how the bank “teams” brokers. Policy improvements will
remain in effect for three years.
Seventy-five female brokers, including named plaintiff Judy
Calibuso, had in a Nov. 29 court filing objected to the “meager”
settlement amount and “weak programmatic relief.”
They claimed that approval would represent a “huge step
backwards” that would “enshrine” and perpetuate discrimination
by Merrill and its Wall Street rivals.
Calibuso, a Miami-area broker who had worked since 1995 for
Bank of America and a predecessor, had been the only one of the
five lead plaintiffs to oppose the settlement, which involved no
admission of wrongdoing by the bank, court records show.
She rescinded her decision to opt out of the settlement
after a Dec. 20 hearing, the records show.
Rachel Geman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at Lieff Cabraser
Heimann & Bernstein, in an email said she was “pleased we were
able to resolve this matter.”
Chen awarded Geman’s firm and co-counsel at Outten & Golden
more than $12.6 million to cover fees and costs.
Bank of America had no immediate comment. Lawyers for the
objectors did not respond to requests for comment.
Bank of America, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, had
15,624 financial advisers as of the end of September. Its $160
million accord with black brokers is one of the largest by an
employer on a U.S. racial bias lawsuit.
The gender case is Calibuso et al v. Bank of America Corp et
al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No.
10-01413.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Nate Raymond in New York;
Editing by Dan Grebler)
