JPMorgan agrees $1.45m sexual harassment payout

Nwe York - US banking giant JPMorgan Chase will pay $1.45m to settle charges that it permitted a sexually charged work environment that led to unfair treatment of 16 female employees in Ohio.

The payment will go to the 16 female mortgage brokers, who alleged that they were deprived of lucrative sales calls and choice training opportunities when they "did not embrace" the atmosphere.

The settlement resolves a 2009 lawsuit against JPMorgan filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

"The situation consisted of sexually charged behavior and comments from the supervisory staff and participating mortgage bankers, which resulted in a sexist and uncivil atmosphere," the EEOC said.

In addition to agreeing the payout, JPMorgan said it would develop a system to ensure that choice assignments are equitably distributed among its mortgage bankers.

The payout follows a stream of government settlements by the bank for much larger sums over its sale of mortgage-backed securities and other issues.

JPMorgan has spent about $20bn on settlements with US regulators since the beginning of 2013.