On March 14, 2007, a group of female current and former employees of Sanofi-Aventis US (a pharmaceutical company) filed this class action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000(e) et seq. and New York Executive Law § 296. The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, asked the Court for declaratory and injunctive relief, including back pay, front pay, and compensatory, nominal, and punitive damages. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendant discriminated against female employees. Specifically, the plaintiffs contended that Sanofi-Aventis discriminated with respect to its policies, practices and selection procedures for promotion, a disparate pay scale, and differential terms and conditions of employment.

The plaintiffs alleged that the defendant subjected female employees to a continuing systemic discrimination that resulted in both a disparate impact and disparate treatment in the areas of promotion, training, and performance evaluation, which relied on subjective judgments, and further that the defendant's refusal to establish clear guidelines could not be justified as a business necessity. More specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant:

- pre-selects and "grooms" male employees for promotions, favorable assignments and training
- fails to provide all employees with a consistent and timely notice of job openings and promotional opportunities
- requires managers to give permission to an employee to apply for any promotion
- fails to prevent sexual harassment targeted at female employees by male managers; and
- selectively and disproportionally disciplines and punishes women for minor infractions
- retaliates against females who seek relief through human resources

On February 29, 2008, the defendant moved to dismiss the complaint, but the Court rejected this motion. Between February 2008 and November 2009, the parties engaged in discovery.

On November 16, 2009, the parties submitted a stipulation informing the court that the action was settled and the parties were in the process of preparing class action settlement agreement.

On August 5, 2010, the Court approved the settlement agreement. Plaintiffs received over $15 million in damages and their counsel was awarded over $4.5 million for the settlement. The settlement also included injunctive terms for the defendant to develop non-discrimination, anti-harassment, and anti-retaliation policies that ensure its female employees enjoy equal terms and conditions of employment comparable to their male counterparts. These policies were to include:

- prohibiting discrimination based on gender or marital status;
- prohibiting harassment and retaliation that result from employees' reporting of gender discrimination; and
- improving policies on pay and promotions

The settlement was to last three years, or until 2013. The case is now closed.

Matthew Aibel - 05/06/2008
Lisa Koo - 03/16/2019


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