JP Morgan Boss Told Gay Employee to 'Separate Your Gay Job From Your Day Job', Lawsuit Claims
A former JPMorgan Chase senior associate has sued the bank after a supervisor allegedly told him to separate his 'gay job' from his day job.
Brian Larson filed the JPMorgan gay employee lawsuit on 23 September 2026 in Manhattan federal court, alleging sexual orientation discrimination and retaliation tied to Pride group work. JPMorgan says a thorough inquiry found no evidence to support the allegations.
Larson joined the Chase Associate Program in 2021 and co-chaired PRIDE Tri-State. The complaint says Peter Bergman called Pride work extracurricular in June 2022 and later warned that DEI would not save him.
Staff later questioned him about $40 (£30) in Uber costs, and the complaint says he was then told to resign or face dismissal.
Alleged Remarks About a Pride Role
The filing says Bergman called an unplanned meeting in late June 2022 and told Larson to keep his gay job apart from bank work. Asked if output was slipping, Bergman allegedly said it was not suffering then but he could see it happening.
Larson says he worked 60 to 70 hours a week for that team and handled Pride duties outside those hours.
JPMorgan's then-global head of diversity, equity and inclusion, Brian Lamb, emailed that Larson's Pride leadership should be reflected in his performance review. Bergman, the suit says, refused.
Former supervisor Ashlee Kelly allegedly warned him against going to human resources.
After the complaint, Larson says he was removed from projects and given a low rating despite earlier strong reviews. He applied for about 50 internal posts and says he reached the final two candidates for 35 to 40 of them, but was not selected for any.
The bank says managers found performance gaps and coached him. Staff told him in December 2022 there was no credible evidence of discrimination.
Resignation Pressure After an Expense
In October 2023 staff questioned two Pride Month Uber journeys of about $40 (£30). The complaint says they raised trust concerns even after a manager corroborated the trips and no breach was found.
Four days later, the complaint says he was told to resign online or be fired and warned that a termination would remain on his record. Larson resigned.
In March 2024, he took a senior manager role at a financial-services management consultancy but left in July 2025 after his migraines became too severe to continue working, according to the complaint. He now receives Social Security Disability Insurance benefits.
The suit seeks lost pay and damages.
A spokesperson said: 'We take these allegations very seriously and after a thorough internal investigation we found no evidence to substantiate Mr Larson's claims.' The bank says he had extra time to find a role and resigned after failing to secure one.
How Can Chronic Workplace Stress Affect Your Health?
Larson says he experienced panic attacks, severe depression, insomnia, weight gain, chronic migraines and a recurrence of trichotillomania during the period he describes as particularly stressful. Britain's Health and Safety Executive estimated that 964,000 workers were suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2024/25, resulting in 22.1 million working days lost.
The lawsuit remains at an early stage, with no ruling yet on the disputed facts. JPMorgan continues to deny wrongdoing and points to its internal review. The court has issued a summons and already assigned the case to a judge.