Saturday, July 21, 2012

Former Bank Of America, Cantor Fitzgerald Employees Sue Over Alleged Racial Discrimination

Former Bank Of America, Cantor Fitzgerald Employees Sue Over Alleged Racial Discrimination: Two separate lawsuits alleging racial discrimination were filed in federal court in New York on Friday, against Bank of America and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.

Jack Mitchell, who is black and worked as a manager at Bank of America from February 2007 to July 2008, alleges the bank maintained an "apartheid" system of business allocation, believing white clients would not want to be served by African American employees.

Under this system, Mitchell alleges, employees such as himself were routinely assigned to branches in low-income black communities, negatively affecting his compensation. Mitchell claims he was fired in retaliation for complaining about "the bank's racist practices."

Bank of America spokesman Bill Halldin declined to comment on the suit but said that "diversity and inclusion are part of Bank of America's culture and core values."