SSB Broker Wins Arbitration Award

December 16, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A female employee at Salomon Smith Barney, who filed for arbitration in connection with "Boom Boom Room" alleged sexual hostility, has won nearly $3.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

This case represented the second “Boom Boom Room” case heard in arbitration and the first resulting in a female broker winning an award, according to a Dow Jones report..   A female broker in Florida had rejected previous settlements, opting instead for arbitration, which she lost.

Tameron Keyes, a current broker at Salomon’s Beverly Hills office, won a settlement including $1.52 million in economic losses, $150,000 in emotional distress, and $1.52 in punitive damages, in addition to attorney fees and expenses.

In her complaint she alleged the work environment in the Los Angeles office during the early 1990’s was filed with sexual insults and harassment.   Specifically, she mentioned female strippers in the office, pornography tapes played at sales meetings, phone sex engagements on speakerphone and lewd comments made directly to her.

The arbitration panel found her testimony “credible” and pointed to other recorded evidence showing her workplace was saturated with sexual intimidation.

In total, 1,920 women participated in   the so-called “Boom Boom Room” class action suits, with 95% accepting the class action settlement.   Currently, 91 cases remain open.

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