District Court Approves $31 Million Settlement of Sex and Age Discrimination Class Action Against American Express Financial Advisors Brought by Sprenger & Lang and Miller-O'Brien.Business Editors/Legal Writers WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 2002 United States District Court United States District Court In the U.S., any of the 94 trial courts of general jurisdiction in the federal judicial system. Each state, as well as the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, has at least one federal district court. Judge Henry Kennedy gave final approval today to a $31 million dollar settlement of a nationwide gender and age discrimination class action case against American Express American Express (NYSE: AXP), sometimes known as "AmEx" or "Amex", is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. The company is best known for its credit card, charge card and traveler's cheque businesses. Financial Advisors, Inc., a subsidiary of American Express. The law firms This list of the world's largest law firms by revenue is taken from The Lawyer and The American Lawyer and is ordered by 2006 revenue:[1]
Notice of the terms of the proposed settlement was then provided to the class, which could involve as many as 4,000 female financial advisors. Following this notice, not a single objection was filed with the Court. Bill O'Brien
Lawrence Schaefer, a partner at Sprenger & Lang, added: "The company should be commended for focusing its energy and resources on eradicating barriers and on enhancing opportunities for women financial advisors rather than on litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. ." The case began in October 1999, when Shelley Kosen, Lois Wisocky, and Meg Roy filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging sex and age discrimination, as well as unequal pay. The women claimed the company created a glass ceiling for women by handing lucrative accounts and steering client leads to male advisors, and by engaging in preferential training, mentoring, and promotion of men. Fourteen women, from seven different states, later joined the action by filing additional charges alleging the same practices. Lawyers representing the women spent almost two years analyzing the evidence and the parties spent almost a year negotiating over the terms of the settlement. The settlement was filed on January 18, 2002 in federal district court in Washington, DC. In addition to the $31 million, which will be distributed to eligible class members and pay attorneys' fees and costs, American Express Financial Advisors has agreed to enhance its operations nationally, including making changes to its account and lead distribution process, its internal complaint procedures, and its promotion process. The company will also create a Field Diversity Officer position that will implement and monitor these changes internally at the company. The terms of the settlement, both monetary and workplace relief items, are set forth in a Consent Decree A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. A consent decree is a settlement that is contained in a court order. which will last four years. To review the Consent Decree and other pleadings or for more information about the case, please visit www.amexgendercase.com. About Sprenger & Lang, PLLC PLLC Professional Limited Liability Company PLLC Polk Life and Learning Center (Bartow, FL) PLLC Partners of Limited Liability Corporation Sprenger & Lang, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, Minnesota, primarily represents employees and other aggrieved individuals in class action and other complex multi-plaintiff litigation across the nation. The firm has a national reputation in this field, having obtained some of the country's largest gender, age, and race discrimination judgments, including in cases against companies such as CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. , Cargill, Northwest Airlines, First Union, Amtrak Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., authorized to operate virtually all intercity passenger railroad routes in the United States. Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 in response to more than two decades of continuous operating deficits by privately run and Ceridian Corporation. For more information about the firm, please visit http://www.sprengerlang.com/. About Miller-O'Brien, PLLP PLLP Professional Limited Liability Partnership (business operating entity) Miller-O'Brien is a Twin Cities law firm specializing in employee rights, civil rights, and labor law labor law, legislation dealing with human beings in their capacity as workers or wage earners. The Industrial Revolution, by introducing the machine and factory production, greatly expanded the class of workers dependent on wages as their source of income. . The firm's attorneys have substantial trial experience in cases involving discrimination based on age, sex, disability and race. They have been selected as among the nation's best. The firm's attorneys are listed in publications such as The Best Lawyers in America, The Guide To Leading American Attorneys, Minnesota Law and Politics (Super Lawyer Issue and Rising Stars Issue), Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine (Top Lawyer Issue) and Twin Cities Business Monthly. For more information about Miller-O'Brien, please visit http://www.miller-obrien.com/. |
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