christiefan915
Catalyst
Who's going to be the first to bring up affirmative action, black privilege, Al Sharpton etc., Philly? Bravo? The rest of those living in a fool's paradise about racial discrimination?
"Merrill Lynch, one of the biggest brokerage firms on Wall Street, has agreed to pay $160 million to settle a racial bias lawsuit that wound through the federal courts for eight years, including two appeals to the United States Supreme Court.
The payout in the suit, which was filed on behalf of 700 black brokers who worked for Merrill, would be the largest sum ever distributed to plaintiffs in a racial discrimination suit against an American employer. Merrill, which was acquired by Bank of America after the suit was filed, also agreed to take advice from black employees on how to improve their chances of succeeding as brokers.
A spokesman for Merrill Lynch refused to confirm the terms of a preliminary settlement, which were provided by Linda D. Friedman, a Chicago lawyer who represents the brokers.
The pool of money, available to all black brokers and trainees at the firm since May 2001, is larger than those offered by other corporations sued by employees for racial bias, including Texaco and Coca-Cola, Ms. Friedman said. It also dwarfs recent payouts by other Wall Street firms, including $16 million that Morgan Stanley agreed to pay in 2008 to settle a suit brought by black and Hispanic brokers.
“This is a somewhat heroic story because these plaintiffs just kept fighting and fighting,” said John C. Coffee Jr., a professor at Columbia Law School. “This is like a triple-overtime win.”
(Continued)
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/merrill-lynch-in-big-payout-for-bias-case/?_r=0
"Merrill Lynch, one of the biggest brokerage firms on Wall Street, has agreed to pay $160 million to settle a racial bias lawsuit that wound through the federal courts for eight years, including two appeals to the United States Supreme Court.
The payout in the suit, which was filed on behalf of 700 black brokers who worked for Merrill, would be the largest sum ever distributed to plaintiffs in a racial discrimination suit against an American employer. Merrill, which was acquired by Bank of America after the suit was filed, also agreed to take advice from black employees on how to improve their chances of succeeding as brokers.
A spokesman for Merrill Lynch refused to confirm the terms of a preliminary settlement, which were provided by Linda D. Friedman, a Chicago lawyer who represents the brokers.
The pool of money, available to all black brokers and trainees at the firm since May 2001, is larger than those offered by other corporations sued by employees for racial bias, including Texaco and Coca-Cola, Ms. Friedman said. It also dwarfs recent payouts by other Wall Street firms, including $16 million that Morgan Stanley agreed to pay in 2008 to settle a suit brought by black and Hispanic brokers.
“This is a somewhat heroic story because these plaintiffs just kept fighting and fighting,” said John C. Coffee Jr., a professor at Columbia Law School. “This is like a triple-overtime win.”
(Continued)
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/merrill-lynch-in-big-payout-for-bias-case/?_r=0