Most of our readers know that discrimination of any kind in an employment setting is wrong. With that in mind, it is interesting to see that three female managers have filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract, age discrimination and sex discrimination against the management of the El Paso Company that acquired the Bank of the Rio Grande. The women claim they were wrongfully terminated and that the bank’s CEO said he was pressured to fire them by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The women had first worked at managerial positions at the First Community Bank, which failed because of problems caused by the mortgage and housing crisis. The three women were a part of the staff even after First Community Bank was taken over by the FDIC and then sold to Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp.
The three had been hired by Strategic Management Partners, the El Paso-based management wing of Strategic Growth Bancorp, which was seeking to buy the BRG with U.S. Bancorp. The women had been promised managerial positions at BRG by the CEO of Strategic Management Partners once the purchase was finalized, but in December of 2011 the women were fired. They were told that this was because the FDIC had reservations regarding the staff employed by the failed First Community Bank at the time the Federal Reserve was considering approval of the acquisition of BRG.
According to the lawsuit, the three women were informed in mid-December that the FDIC had raised objections, and they were terminated in the first week of January 2012.
In addition to being victims of sex discrimination, the three women claim they were also fired because of their ages. All of them were over 40 years old. Acts of sex discrimination violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and age discrimination is expressly prohibited by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. The women also allege that they were told before termination that they would receive two months’ salary and be reconsidered for re-employment after two months.
Victims of sex discrimination should understand that they can get the support that they need if they seek out the right advice. Victims can claim compensation from the responsible parties, which will ease the burden of the experience.
Source: New Mexico Business Weekly, “Three women allege Bank of Rio Grande’s McCormick improperly fired them,” Dennis Domrzalski, Nov. 9, 2012
