Sexual Harassment at Ernst & Young

Sexual harassment has been an immoral and illicit action that has plagued workplaces for decades. Normally beginning as unwanted sexual advances, it can devolve into ongoing harassment and even sexual assault if the conduct goes unaddressed by the employer.

A female investment banker began working at Ernst & Young in 2013.  She was a veteran in the world of investment banking with previous employers including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America. October 31^st, 2018 would be her last day, having been terminated after a tumultuous tenure that included her supervisor sexually harassing her, her countless reports of the harassment going unaddressed, and the blacklisting of her career that would follow by the accused and his peers.

The employee’s complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Ernst & Young would be the second of two sexual harassment complaints against the firm filed in 2018.

The Investment Banker’s Story

The world of investment banking is a male dominated culture. Ernst & Young employs over 260,000 people; in the employee’s division, all partners were men, and only four women were among senior management. During a business trip in the early part of 2013, the female employee was sexually harassed by her direct supervisor.

She alleges that her supervisor made crude and offensive advances towards her, which she made clear were unwanted. Her supervisor also spent the next few years taking credit for her work and sabotaging her career. He purposefully took her name off of deals that she had worked on, even claiming her work as his own.

But the nightmare for the employee did not end there. The supervisor’s inner circle began harassing her as well; she was ousted from certain projects and deals, faced retaliation from coworkers, and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in earnings.

Reporting Unheard

After several failed attempts of reporting her supervisor’s behavior, he was transferred out of her division. Eventually he was fired, though Ernst & Young cites “poor performance” as the reason for his termination. This is the same reason used for the female investment banker’s subsequent termination in 2018.

She complained and wrote dozens of emails and letters to any supervisor or executive at Ernst & Young in an effort to be heard, but she was constantly rejected and dismissed.

After she questioned ongoing retaliation against her because she was a woman who spoke up against men, the head of the investment banking division who replaced the employee’s former supervisor told her not to, “push that rock up the hill, it will roll back on you and crush you.”

Because of her employment contract prior to Ernst & Young hiring her, which stipulated that she could not sue her employer in a public court, her case is still awaiting arbitration behind closed doors. The investment banker is presently unemployed, which she attributes in part to actions by her former employer.

Middletown Sexual Harassment Lawyers at McOmber McOmber & Luber, P.C. Represent Victims of Sexual Harassment and Retaliation

Sexual harassment is unlawful and is never condoned in the workplace. If you have experienced or are experiencing sexual harassment at your workplace or office, the Middletown sexual harassment lawyers at McOmber McOmber & Luber, P.C. can help you fight for your rights and obtain justice. Feel free to call our Red Bank office at 732-842-6500, our Marlton office at 856-985-9800, or contact us at 888-396-0736 or online for a free consultation. We represent all clients in Middletown, Cherry Hill, and throughout New Jersey.