Merrill to Pay Ex-Broker $2.2 Million to Settle Suit

An arbitration panel has ordered Merrill Lynch & Co. to pay a former broker in its San Antonio office $2.2 million to resolve her lawsuit claiming gender discrimination. The three-member panel’s award for Hydie Sumner, issued Monday and announced Tuesday, was the largest to stem from nearly 1,000 bias lawsuits women brokers have filed against the firm since 1997.

Sumner alleged she was not allocated the same amount of brokerage work as male colleagues and that her office manager sexually harassed her.

Mark Herr, a Merrill Lynch spokesman, said the company has taken several steps to ensure such behavior does not recur, including the way it distributes account work among brokers and “expanding our diversity issues.” The office’s manager no longer works for Merrill Lynch.

Another 39 cases remain in mediation or arbitration.