A JPMorgan Chase vice president is suing the bank, alleging that his female supervisor sexually harassed and assaulted him.
According to the lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Diego, Marvin Holston was hired and began working for Chase on Nov. 29, 2021, as branch manager-trainee at Chase's facility in Carlsbad. He currently works as a vice president/branch manager.
One of his supervisors, Summer Jamison, who served as a market director, sexually harassed Holston — a married gay man — by "forcibly placing his hands on her bare breasts, making sexual comments to him, and making favorable workplace conditions contingent on his tolerance of her sexually inappropriate behavior," the suit contends.
Holston, according to the suit, complained to the California Civil Rights Department, which issued a right to sue, on or about Sept. 26.
In March 2023, Jamison began insisting that Holston "have meetings with her at the Pizza Bar located near their office where she would promise that she would 'make him rich' and proceed to have sexually inappropriate conversations," according to the suit.
Holston, the suit continues, "previously observed" that Jamison "forcibly transferred or even terminated managers that she did not like, so plaintiff felt compelled to placate her inappropriate behavior."
Jamison made comments about having a “branch manager meeting” at Holston's house "and making the meeting a 'pool party,'” the suit states.
According to the suit, Jamison then began texting and calling Holston to discuss her marital problems and would tell him "she needed a place to stay." Holston "was sympathetic and concerned" for Jamison because she had expressed that her husband was abusive.
On March 7, 2023, Jamison approached Holston after he allowed her to stay over to escape her abusive husband, the suit states. "She was in Plaintiff’s jacuzzi with only a t-shirt and no swimsuit, getting within inches of him."
On April 24, 2023, Jamison called Holston again wanting to come over and stay the night, but he refused. Jamison continued to ask Holston to stay at his home, but he "was uncomfortable with this, and he began to reject" Jamison staying over.
Once Holston started to reject her staying over, Jamison began to ostracize him from company events, according to the suit.
Jamison "was later terminated for an unrelated reason," the suit states.
Holston's suit claims sexual harassment and hostile work environment; failure to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation; as well as retaliation for resisting and reporting sexual harassment as well as sexual battery and assault and battery.
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