Troubled Young
EY hit with another harassment suit
Ernst & Young has been slapped with yet another lawsuit claiming that its offices are plagued with rampant sex harassment and discrimination against women.
One exec at the Big Four accounting firm praised a female employee for her “great big round boobs” and “nice ass,” while another warned her she might be perceived as “bitchy” if she complained, according to a suit filed Monday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Council.
Former partner Karen Ward, who was fired last month after five years at EY, claims in the suit that there were “constant discussions” by male colleagues about their work-related trips to “nightclubs and titty bars.”
Some sleazy bean-counters regularly bragged about positioning their chairs so they could see a junior female employee’s vagina — “or, as they disgustingly referred to it, her ‘snatch,’ ” according to the complaint.
In July 2014, Ward complained in an e-mail to a superior that she had to do her job “with both hands tied behind [her] back” while her boss Michael McNamara — nicknamed “Big Mac” — sexually harassed her and undermined her work, the suit said.
Ward’s case isn’t the first time EY has had to answer for allegations of harassment.
The Post exclusively re- ported in May that EY settled with former partner Jessica Casucci for an undisclosed sum after she alleged being groped by former partner John Martinkat, who then sent her lewd texts and emails.
According to 2016 data, less than 20 percent of EY partners were female, the complaint said. Only four of 42 members of Ward’s former division’s management were women, according to the suit.
Reps for EY say Ward’s allegations are “unfounded and baseless,” noting that her division was shut down following years of disappointing financial results.
“The decision to close this money-losing operation and separate Ward was wholly unrelated to her gender. Her allegations of harassment, retaliation and unfair pay were raised after she was informed of her separation,” EY spokesman John La Place said.