New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced the Bank of New York may have harassed and discriminated against an employee because he is black and gay—and later then fired him after he complained, the Star Ledger reports.
The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights describes the allegations at the bank’s Secaucus facility as "troubling." At least half a dozen employees confirm mailroom machine operator Paul Nathan's charges that supervisors "often called him derogatory names...including from one coworker who threatened to sodomize him with a stick."
The Cliffview Pilot adds: "Two other employees confirmed Nathan and a black co-worker were often assigned to a room dubbed 'the plantation' where heavy lifting was required."
The case goes to reconciliation. If a settlement is not reached it will be referred to an administrative judge for a nonjury trial.
The Bank of New York merged in 2007 with Mellon Financial Corp. and is now known as The Bank of New York Mellon. A spokesman denied all the charges.
