Trial Nears Close In Novartis Unit Gender-Discrimination Case
11 May 2010 - 6:29PM
Dow Jones News
The system for determining pay and promotions at Novartis AG's
(NVS, NOVN.VX) U.S. unit is "broken beyond repair" and allows a
pattern and practice of discrimination against its female employees
to persist, a lawyer for a group of women suing the company said
Tuesday.
In his closing argument Tuesday, David Sanford, a lawyer for the
women, said Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.'s system for evaluating
employees is extremely subjective and driven by a forced curve that
limits the overall number of top ratings that can be given to
employees as part of their annual evaluation.
Women receive fewer top ratings than do men at the Swiss drug
maker's U.S. unit, Sanford said. Women who take leave, particularly
time off for pregnancies, have had an even more difficult time of
receiving top ratings, he said.
"An employee's total compensation comes down to the whims and
moods of that employee's manager," Sanford said. "It's the Wild
West, folks. Anything goes."
A jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan is hearing
allegations that the company fostered a culture that denied its
female sales force the same opportunities for better pay and
promotions as its male employees. The case is expected to go to the
jury later Tuesday.
The class-action lawsuit was filed in 2004 by a group of current
and former female sales representatives. The case was brought on
behalf of a class of about 5,600 current and former female Novartis
employees in the U.S.
On Monday, Richard H. Schnadig, a lawyer for Novartis, said the
Swiss drug maker has acted in "good faith" and has policies in
place that are designed to handle complaints of discrimination and
mistreatment. He said the allegations against the U.S. unit have
"no merit."
-By Chad Bray, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-227-2017;
chad.bray@dowjones.com