Merrill Lynch agrees to pay nearly $20 million to settle class action racial discrimination lawsuit
Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accuses the Wall Street brokerage giant of racially discriminating against its Black financial advisers
NEW YORK — Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accuses the Wall Street brokerage giant of racially discriminating against its Black financial advisers.
The lawsuit alleges that African American advisers employed by Bank of America-owned Merrill received less compensation and promotions than their white counterparts — and were terminated at higher rates than their white colleagues, with fewer advancing to more senior roles. The case alleges that this was a result of discriminatory practices at the company, which included a broader lack of support and inequitable teaming opportunities.
“The violations of African-American employees’ rights are systemic and are based upon company-wide policies and practices,” reads the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida last week. The complaint was brought by four former Merrill advisers.
According to a May 24 motion for settlement, Merrill has agreed to pay $19.95 million — which, beyond attorney fees and administration costs, is set to compensate class members with individual payments. The plaintiffs expect there are about 1,375 eligible class members.
As part of the settlement, which still needs a judge's approval, Merrill has also agreed to additional “programmatic relief” — including a review of the company's current and past diversity initiatives as well as analysis of diversity metrics and pay equity. Merrill does not admit to any wrongdoing under the settlement's terms.
In a statement to The Associated
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