Jewish Worker Ordered to Wear Nazi Outfit
L O N D O N , Jan. 31, 2001 -- A Jewish man whose grandmother died at Auschwitz was told to wear a Nazi uniform as punishment for being late to work. The employer, one of the world's biggest brokerage firms, says it was all just office joking.
Laurent Weinberger, 33, worked as a broker for Tullett & Tokyo Liberty — one of London's largest securities dealers — for six years.
When he arrived late to work one day last May, he says he was handed a German World War II-era military uniform and told to wear it as punishment for his tardiness.
Weinberger, whose grandmother died in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, refused. A few weeks later, he claims, he received a demotion and a cut in pay.
Weinberger quit and is now suing on the grounds of racial discrimination, anti-Semitic abuse and unfair dismissal.
Firm Admits Name-Calling
Tullett & Tokyo Liberty, which is backed by some of America's leading brokers, admitted in a letter seeking a settlement of the case, that Weinberger was called racial epithets such as "Yiddo" and "Jew boy."
The brokerage also acknowledged in a preliminary hearing before an employment tribunal that Weinberger was issued an Adolph Hitler uniform to wear. However, the firm denies any anti-Semitic abuse.
An attorney for Tullett & Tokyo Liberty, Sinclair Cramsie, said Weinberger was not the victim of discrimination because all the firm's employees were called names and made to wear costumes if they were late.
He told the London tribunal that name-calling and costumes were part of the horseplay and banter used to release tension in the high-pressure workplace.
Irish and Welsh Also Targeted
In the settlement letter, obtained by ABCNEWS.com, Tullett & Tokyo Liberty even cited other incidents in which employees of other ethnic or religious backgrounds were ridiculed.
One example involved a Protestant broker from Northern Ireland who was given a pope costume to wear as his punishment.
And a Welsh employee was given a Bo Peep costume to wear — apparently as a crude jest about Welshmen and their alleged associations with sheep.
The company says it was common practice on the trading desks to punish tardiness in this way, and claims it was all lighthearted.
In testimony before the employment tribunal, the firm said the office banter "might refer to a particular characteristic of an employee," or "might on occasion refer to an employee's racial or ethic origins."
In its letter seeking settlement, the brokerage firm even cited examples of how its Welsh employees might be called "sheepshagger."
‘Wholly Inappropriate’
The firm acknowledges asking a Jewish employee to wear a Nazi costume was "wholly inappropriate," and says those involved have received written warnings.
"The company bitterly regrets any distress caused to Mr. Weinberger, and indeed, apologized to him immediately after it became aware of this matter," Chief Executive Bruce Collins said in a statement issued to ABCNEWS.com.
However, the company continues to maintain that this and the other incidents involved no malice, no hostility and no racial discrimination.
The brokerage has offered to donate $75,000 to a Jewish charity if Weinberger drops his case, but he has refused.
"I've got to stick up for what I believe in," Weinberger said, standing with his family outside the tribunal.
Tullett & Tokyo Liberty is one of the largest money brokers in the world, employing more than 2,000 people in financial centers in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia.
In the company's press release last year announcing the merger of Tullett & Tokyo with Liberty Brokerage Investment Corp., it boasted it was supported (in business) by shareholders that include representatives from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Goldman Sachs Group, Citigroup, Inc., Hermes Investment Management, Ltd., Refco Group, Ltd., LP and Tokyo FOREX Company Ltd.
A full hearing on the case is expected in June.