Financial giant JPMorgan Chase will pay $1,450,000 and revamp its call data retention procedures to settle a sex-based harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  

The EEOC charged in its lawsuit that JPMorgan Chase maintained a sexually hostile work environment towards its female mortgage bankers assigned to its Polaris Park facility, located outside Columbus, Ohio.  This situation consisted of sexually charged behavior and comments from the supervisory staff and participating mortgage bankers, which resulted in a sexist and uncivil atmosphere.  The EEOC further alleged that the female mortgage bankers who did not embrace and participate in these circumstances became ostracized and suffered economic consequences by being deprived of lucrative sales calls, being deprived of training opportunities, and being denied other benefits of employment.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Civil Action 2:09-cv-00864, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. 

The $1,450,000 in monetary relief will be allocated among 16 female mortgage bankers who worked at JPMorgan Chase's call center in its Polaris Park facility.  The consent decree resolving the case also enjoins JPMorgan Chase from creating or maintaining a sexually hostile work environment there in the future.  Moreover, JPMorgan Chase is developing a call data retention system so that assignments of sales calls can be accessed and analyzed to ensure that they are being equitably distributed among the mortgage bankers.   

In addition to the monetary compensation for the class members, the company must provide extensive training. 

According to company information, New York-based JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.4 trillion, operating in more than 60 countries, with more than 260,000 employees.