December 21, 2025
The company now faces another discrimination lawsuit over alleged bias.
JPMorgan Chase is facing a lawsuit by two former Black female employees who claim the company assigned them to less affluent areas in Brooklyn, New York, due to their race, Bloomberg reports.
In the lawsuit, filed Dec. 17, Laura Agard and Roshanna Richardson say race and gender discrimination prompted them to leave the investment bank in 2021.
The move to Brooklyn, they claim, allowed male colleagues to steal clients from them while limiting their commission income potential. They deem their assignment to low-income areas as discriminatory.
Furthermore, the women believe that the JPMorgan Chase bank branches systemically preferred white male advisors, who they claim were authorized to take over the women’s client books when they entered maternity leave.
“This practice was built on the stereotyped assumption that women taking maternity leave—as opposed to men taking medical or other leaves—were likely not to return to the work force after having children or were more likely to prioritize their children over their work,” detailed the complaint.
Robinson also noted an instance where one white advisor began to handle all clients with over $250,000 in assets. Ahead of their own departure, JPMorgan Chase assigned the women to branches in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Coney Island, and Canarsie, predominately diverse if not Black-leaning areas of Brooklyn.
JPMorgan Chase has weathered previous lawsuits over racial and gender discrimination in the workplace. The lawsuit highlighted a $24 million settlement from a class action lawsuit filed by Black advisors.
Following the settlement, Forbes confirmed the company’s plans to enact bias training and a review of branch assignments.
JPMorgan Chase has vehemently denied the current allegations and that it will “vigorously defend itself” against the lawsuit. The company also emphasized its “strongest commitment to an equal workplace.”
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