A former female senior manager at KPMG, the global accounting-consulting giant with offices in Hartford and Stamford, filed a proposed class action lawsuit accusing the accounting firm of discriminating against its female employees in pay, promotions and pregnancy leave, Reuters reports.
The lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court on Thursday, seeks $350 million in lost pay and benefits a well as other compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of thousands of current and former female managers at the company.
The suit accuses the “Big Four” accounting firm of fostering a hostile work environment where women are underpaid and seldom promoted to leadership positions.
While women constitute nearly half of all employees at the company, they make up only 18 percent of all KPMG partners, according to a copy of the complaint provided by a plaintiff’s representative.
KPMG did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case is the latest in a series of gender discrimination suits filed by law firm Sanford Wittels & Heisler, which settled a similar case against Novartis AG last July for $175 million.
The firm is also pursuing legal claims against heath insurer Cigna Corp., French advertising company Publicis Group SA, Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals.
