A lawsuit alleges that a JPMorgan Chase executive told a gay employee to keep his “gay job” separate from his “day job” and cautioned him that “DEI is not going to save you” before the bank compelled him to resign.
Brian Larson, who formerly worked as a senior associate in JPMorgan’s Chase Associate Program, claims that his supervisor, Peter Bergman, repeatedly made discriminatory comments about his sexual orientation and his role in the bank’s Pride employee group, as stated in a complaint filed recently in Manhattan federal court.
According to the complaint, Larson was called into a spontaneous Zoom meeting by Bergman in late June 2022 and was criticized for spending too much time on his Pride activities.
Bergman allegedly insisted that Larson needed to “separate [his] gay job from [his] day job” and referred to his Pride work as just an “extracurricular” activity.
The lawsuit, initially reported by The Independent, reveals that when Larson asked if his work with Bergman’s Growth Segments team was being affected, Bergman replied that while it wasn’t suffering currently, he could foresee it happening.
Larson reported feeling intense anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and even insomnia due to the situation, which also led to a return of trichotillomania, a stress-related hair-pulling disorder he hadn’t experienced since childhood.
A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase responded to the allegations, stating that after a comprehensive internal investigation, no evidence was found to support Larson’s claims. The bank indicated that various managers had identified potential performance issues and provided assistance to help him improve.
JPMorgan noted that Larson was given an extended timeframe to secure a permanent role after completing the program, but he eventually resigned after not doing so. The Chase Associate Program is a two-year rotational initiative where participants engage in three successive placements lasting between eight to ten months each.
During this time, Larson reportedly worked 60 to 70 hours a week for Bergman’s team, and handled his Pride activities outside of those hours. When Larson brought up Bergman’s “gay job” comment to Chase Associate Program manager Elizabeth Manchin, she reportedly responded that Pride activities are integral to the business approach at Chase, not merely extracurricular.
Larson sought additional advice from a previous supervisor, Ashlee Kelly, who warned him about the potential repercussions of reporting to human resources, saying things don’t always turn out positively from such actions. Nevertheless, Kelly affirmed that Larson did the right thing by reporting Bergman’s remarks and encouraged him to persevere.
Tensions escalated when Brian Lamb, the then-global head of diversity, equity, and inclusion at JPMorgan, sent Larson an email commending his dedication and assuring him that his Pride work would be considered in his performance review. However, Bergman reportedly dismissed this, stating he would not include Larson’s Pride activities in his evaluation.
Bergman allegedly went on to express that being gay shouldn’t give Larson any advantage in the workplace. Even after Larson reported these incidents to Manchin, who acknowledged that the situation was unfair, the challenges continued.
After Larson’s complaints, Bergman purportedly reassigned him from projects, began scrutinizing his work more closely, and warned that his final placement was uncertain, reiterating that “DEI is not going to save you.” Despite these warnings, Bergman marked Larson as “on track” in all areas of his performance assessments while suggesting he should demonstrate similar enthusiasm for his primary role as he did for LGBTQ activities.
Despite receiving positive performance ratings during his first and third rotations, Larson faced growing difficulties securing a permanent position within the firm, applying for numerous jobs without success, according to the lawsuit.
In October 2023, human resources raised concerns regarding approximately $40 in Uber expenses linked to Pride Month events, questioning his trustworthiness and integrity, though they later found no wrongdoing. Just a few days later, HR allegedly informed Larson that his time with the program was up and instructed him to resign through an online system, warning that failure to comply would result in termination on his record.
The lawsuit charges JPMorgan with discrimination and retaliation, seeking lost wages, compensatory and punitive damages, along with other forms of relief.
