Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Woman claims discrimination at Bryn Mawr Trust
An Upper Darby woman has filed a claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging Bryn Mawr Trust Corp. is maintaining “an illegal discrimination-based working environment.”
Wandrea Russo, who works as head teller for the bank’s main branch, claims in a complaint filed April 29 that she experienced chest pains and had to go to the hospital as a result of racial, sexual and age discrimination, as well as retaliation at the hands of her supervisor.
“I have been penalized in terms of pay, benefits and promotion as a result of this discrimination,” Russo said in her filing. “I have complained to
the regional supervisor and representatives of HR have done nothing, the result of which has been to make the situation worse.”
The bank issued a letter to Russo June 20 indicating that it had undertaken an investigation and found no discrimination or retaliation had taken place. A spokesman for the bank also issued the following statement Friday:
“Bryn Mawr Trust is committed to a safe, diverse and inclusive work environment. There is no tolerance for harassment and discrimination. After thoroughly investigating Ms. Russo’s concerns, including interviews with witnesses she identified, our company found no evidence of discrimination or harassment. Our Human Resources team has actively engaged Ms. Russo to ensure she has the support and resources she needs, and she has expressed appreciation for our HR team’s handling of this matter.”
Mark Schwartz, an attorney representing Russo, called the June 20 letter “clearly bogus” and its conclusions “a joke.” He fired off his own letter to counsel for the bank June 21 indicating that his client “accepts no part of the coverup and misrepresentations,” and said Bryn Mawr Trust could expect to find itself in court.
Schwartz initially offered to settle the matter for $500,000, but withdrew that offer after Russo was suspended for three weeks in May on what he deemed “spurious and unfounded allegations” of a security breach involving keys.
“You can expect a civil rights suit, retaliation claim, emotional distress claim and ‘false light claim’ as a result of BMTC’s open accusation of misconduct against my client. You can also anticipate punitive damages claims,” Schwartz told BMTC Board Chair Britton H. Murdoch in a May 29 email.
Schwartz said he had previously sent Murdoch a letter describing 30 interactions Russo allegedly had with the supervisor that included racist remarks or having duties imposed on her that were different than those of her white counterparts.
During one discussion about slavery, the supervisor allegedly stated that “blacks need to just get over it and stop acting like victims.” She also told a Jamaican employee to “run” to the vault, stating “Jamaicans are supposed to be fast,” according to Russo.
In another instance, the supervisor allegedly told Russo that she should attend a march for life “because most aborted babies are from black mothers.”
Russo said employees are made to work when not on the clock and that white employees are allowed to leave while on schedule, but black employees must stay behind to finish their work. Employees are also routinely asked to begin work as soon as they arrive, resulting in being shorted compensatory time, according to Russo.
Russo additionally claims another white teller was given credit for one of her sales referrals. An assistant manager agreed that the sale should have been credited to Russo, but she says her supervisor later informed her that the sale would be credited to the white teller without explanation.
Russo says she reported the supervisor to human resources after she accused Russo of lying and was told a regional manager would speak to the supervisor. The complaint says the supervisor later told Russo to follow the chain of command and not to go over her head.
It was after meeting with human resources that Russo claims the retaliation started. When she reported those issues as well, the regional manager allegedly told Russo to stop calling her and that whatever the supervisor decided would stand.
Russo returned to work Wednesday, when she was informed by letter that the bank concluded no harassment or retaliation had taken place. The letter from the bank states that the investigation did reveal information about day-today operations that Bryn Mawr Trust intends to address, including reminding all employees of the bank’s anti-harassment policies and providing additional training for managers and employees.
The letter also stated that Russo should present any instances where she felt she did not receive proper compensation to the bank and should feel free to contact human resources without fear of retaliation if she feels there is any future harassment.
“That is garbage and not the way it works,” said Schwartz. “They have an affirmative obligation to maintain an environment that meets the requirements of the law. Moreover, the manner in which they ripped her out of her job for three weeks was and remains retaliation.”
Russo said Friday that a representative from human relations spoke with her after learning the Daily Times was planning to publish a story and asked her, “I thought you said you were happy to be back at work?”
Russo said she replied that she was happy to be back at her job, but said she was then told that a story appearing in the Daily Times would “smear” her name.
“(She said) ‘if you allow them to tell your story, there’s no going back,’” Russo said. “I felt like that was a threat.”
Russo added that she was told it was within her rights to speak to the newspaper and was presented with a reporter’s name and phone number, but said she believed it was a matter for her attorney and contacted him instead.
Bryn Mawr Trust’s head of human resources “emphatically denied” the conversation took place as Russo described to the paper.
“Importantly, Ms. Russo expressed to us that she was unaware that her attorney shared her confidential documents with a reporter, or that this article was even being written,” a spokesman for the bank said. “Her attorney has a history of using the press as leverage. We support all of our employees in exercising their rights, however this abusive use of the press is clearly an example of Mr. Schwartz’s mission of revenge against the bank.”
“The only vendetta I have is against people and institutions who violate the law,” Schwartz responded.
Russo said Friday that she still intends to pursue the matter in court.