Bank of America Corp. settled a lawsuit filed by a Merrill broker who claimed that unit of the bank discriminates against women through its partnership model.  Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

A broker with Merrill since 1992, Jamie Goodman sued last year in federal court in Manhattan.  Ms. Goodman argued that retention bonuses paid to brokers by BofA, after it acquired Merrill, reflect a bias against women.  She maintained that female brokers were less productive than white men due to the firm’s “systemic discrimination,” and, as a result, got lower bonuses.

It was 13 years ago that Merrill Lynch was sued for systemic sex discrimination against women in a case that led to the company’s creation of a national account-distribution plan.  As part of that effort to eliminate bias, Merrill created partnerships, or teams, of brokers.  According to Ms. Goodman, the Merrill Lynch unit still operated in an uneven manner. 

The case is Goodman v. Merrill Lynch, 09-cv-5841, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).   [Bloomberg, 11/16]