Lawsuit Says Bank of America Discriminates Against Black Employees

Five black current and former Bank of America employees are alleging racial discrimination against the bank.  They argue that Bank of America routinely steered lucrative clients away from them and to their white counterparts.

The complaint was filed last Thursday, in the Federal District Court of Boston.

The employees, however, worked in a North Carolina branch.  Their suit goes on to suggest that Bank of America regularly teamed African-American workers together and assigned them to largely minority neighborhoods and clients with low net worths.

According to the lawsuit, Bank of America told the black employees that it believed clients were more “comfortable” dealing with bankers and brokers of their own race.

In response, Bank of America has said that it will defend itself against the lawsuit and that it has a strong record of hiring and training workers from many backgrounds.  Though it’s interesting to see that the allegation that Bank of America is answering isn’t the allegation that the black employees are making.  They aren’t arguing that Bank of America does not hire African Americans; they’re arguing that black employees are not given the same lucrative clients that their white counterparts are given.