Plaintiffs Allege Widespread Gender Disparities in Pay, Promotion Within Sexist Culture

NEW YORK, Nov. 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attorneys from Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP filed a motion in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York today seeking class certification in a long-running lawsuit to challenge gender disparities in pay and promotion on behalf of female Advisory and Tax professionals at KPMG.  The Court held a hearing on the motion, not previously filed on the public docket, in August, and the parties await a decision.

“Today’s filings demonstrate pervasive gender discrimination against women at KPMG, where women are underpaid and underpromoted,” said Kate Mueting, a partner and co-chair of the Title VII practice in Sanford Heisler Sharp’s Washington, D.C., office and lead attorney for KPMG’s female plaintiffs. “KPMG knew of gender pay disparities as early as 2009 and, nonetheless, expert analysis shows gender-based pay disparities still exist nationwide.”

“Despite the many gains women have made in the workplace, the record in this case shows that the deck continues to be stacked against them," said Kelly Dermody, Chair of the Employment Practice Group at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, and co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs.  “Change will only be possible through the collective resistance of the brave women who have come forward.”

The motion also details rampant sexual harassment and even sexual assault.  Men at KPMG grabbed women’s buttocks, thighs and breasts and encouraged women to “put on lipstick” and wear high heels to secure engagements for the firm.

Kassman, et al. v. KPMG was filed June 2, 2011 and is focused on changing the firm’s discriminatory pay and promotion policies and practices, as well as remedying its systemic failure to properly investigate and resolve pervasive complaints of gender discrimination and harassment.  The Court granted conditional collective action certification of Plaintiffs’ Equal Pay Act claims in 2014, and 1,112 current and former KPMG employees have joined the case.

In its most recent fiscal year, ending September 2017, KPMG reported revenues of $26.4 US billion worldwide, up from $25.42 US billion worldwide in 2016. The firm’s 2018 revenue has not been released. 

About Sanford Heisler Sharp

Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP is a public interest class-action litigation law firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, as well as New York, San Francisco, San Diego, and Nashville.  Our attorneys have graduated from the nation’s top law schools, clerked for judges throughout the United States, and amassed extensive experience litigating and trying cases that have earned over one billion dollars for our clients.

The Firm is committed to civil rights and general public interest cases, representing plaintiffs with claims of employment discrimination, sexual violence, labor and wage violations, predatory lending, consumer fraud, and whistleblowing, among other claims. Along with a focus on class actions, the Firm also represents individuals and has achieved extraordinary success in the representation of executives and attorneys in employment disputes.

For more information, go to www.sanfordheisler.com or call (646) 402-5650 For the latest news, visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @sanfordheisler.

About Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is a 70-attorney firm with offices in San Francisco, New York, Nashville, and Seattle. Lieff Cabraser has represented employees in a wide variety of individual, #metoo, and class action cases, including on behalf of female Associates and Vice-Presidents in the certified gender discrimination class action currently pending against Goldman Sachs, Chen-Oster v. Goldman, Sachs & Co.  The firm has served as class counsel in many of the most significant cases of the last several years, including the nationwide consumer fraud case, In re: Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Litigation, which resulted in consumer settlements valued at over $16 billion and the Silicon Valley no-poaching case, In re High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, which resulted in settlements totaling $435 million.

For more information, go to www.lieffcabraser.com.

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