美国银行（BAC.N）遭一名被解雇的理财顾问起诉，该顾问指控这家美国第二大银行背弃了其在2013年种族偏见和解协议中的承诺，即不要求员工通过仲裁解决歧视指控。
Bank of America (BAC.N) was sued by a fired financial adviser who accused the second-largest US bank of backing out of its commitment in a 2013 racial bias settlement not to require employees to arbitrate discrimination claims.
根据周四晚间在曼哈顿联邦法院提交的诉状，凯瑟琳·麦基（Katherine Mackey）对一项2024年11月的政策提出质疑，该政策据称要求美国银行和美林证券员工接受通过JAMS进行的强制仲裁，以解决包括歧视和骚扰在内的许多索赔，并“永久放弃”其在法院起诉或提起集体诉讼的权利。
In a complaint filed late Thursday in Manhattan federal court, Katherine Mackey challenged a November 2024 policy that purportedly required Bank of America and Merrill Lynch employees to accept mandatory arbitration through JAMS for many claims, including discrimination and harassment, and "forever waive" their right to sue in court or pursue class actions.
麦基称，该政策否定了美林证券在2013年8月与数百名黑人经纪人达成的1.6亿美元和解协议中的承诺，这些经纪人指控在薪酬、晋升和大额账户分配方面存在偏见。
Mackey said the policy negated Merrill Lynch's promises in its $160 million settlement in August 2013 with hundreds of Black brokers who alleged bias in pay, promotions and how large accounts were allocated.
许多企业倾向于选择仲裁而非诉讼，因为仲裁可以保持保密、使取证更加困难，且成本较低。它们也倾向于个案而非集体诉讼，因为赔偿金额可能较低，且提起个别索赔的成本可能高得令人望而却步。
Many businesses prefer arbitration to litigation because arbitration can remain confidential, make gathering evidence more difficult, and cost less. They also prefer individual cases to class actions because recoveries can be lower, and bringing individual claims may be prohibitively costly.
“国会和最高法院长期以来一直鼓励利用仲裁解决就业纠纷，”美国银行发言人表示。“以JAMS作为仲裁论坛的仲裁政策在法院通常都能得到支持，本案也是如此。我们期待全力捍卫本案的各个方面。”根据诉状，麦基于2023年（当时65岁）加入美林证券的一个有志成为理财顾问的培训项目，但年轻的男性同事和主管因她的性别和年龄对她实施歧视和骚扰，并剥夺了她的资源。
“Congress and the Supreme Court have long encouraged the use of arbitration to resolve employment disputes," a Bank of America spokesperson said. "Arbitration policies using JAMS as the forum for arbitration are routinely upheld in court, as has this one. We look forward to vigorously defending all aspects of this case.”According to the complaint, Mackey joined a Merrill Lynch program for aspiring financial advisers in 2023, when she was 65, but younger male colleagues and supervisors subjected her to discrimination and harassment and starved her of resources because of her gender and age.
麦基表示，她未能达到生产目标，并被给予到2025年夏季前追赶进度的时间，但截止日期被提前，她于2025年2月被解雇。她希望让美国银行的强制仲裁政策失效，以便将她的索赔从仲裁程序转移到联邦法院，她此前已在仲裁程序中提出索赔以作预防。
Mackey said she missed her production goals and was given until the summer of 2025 to catch up, but the deadline was accelerated and she was fired in February 2025. She wants to void Bank of America's mandatory arbitration policy so she can move her claims to federal court from arbitration, where she filed as a precaution.
曾在2013年和解案中代表经纪人的芝加哥律师琳达·弗里德曼代表麦基。她的办公室周五未立即回应置评请求。JAMS曾被称为司法仲裁与调解服务公司。
Linda Friedman, a Chicago lawyer who represented the brokers in the 2013 settlement, represents Mackey. Her office did not immediately respond on Friday to requests for comment. JAMS was once known as Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services.