Lazard Capital Markets employees are in an uproar over a demand by the boutique investment firm’s bosses that workers sign a questionable sexual-harassment contract or forfeit their bonuses.
According to a Jan. 20 company-wide memo written by CEO William Buchanan and obtained by The Post, Lazard Capital was requiring its workers to sign a form stating they had not “engaged in any discriminatory, harassing, or inappropriate conduct.”
A Lazard Capital spokeswoman confirmed the letter, but said the company is no longer requiring employees to sign the contract, and will not withhold bonus payments, which are scheduled to be made Feb. 17.
Sources said Buchanan’s memo caused quite a stir among employees because it included language “relieving the firm of any legal claim that you may have for harassment or discrimination,” and goes on to say that “in order to ensure that all employees provide this representation and release, discretionary bonus payments will be paid upon receipt of these documents.”
Buchanan’s memo said Lazard Capital has been involved in a year-long “self-assessment of its employment, hiring, and promotion policies to ensure that the firm provides a professional culture based upon merit and individual contributions.”
Michael Grenert, a partner at Liddle & Robinson who represents employees in the financial-services industry, described the memo as being not only outrageous but also probably illegal.
“Lazard’s policy is an unprecedented and outrageous attempt to trample employees’ rights under laws prohibiting discrimination and sexual harassment,” Grenert told The Post. “Lazard’s goal is to coerce employees into waiving potentially legitimate discrimination claims.
“Trying to encourage its employees to come forward with information about discrimination is clearly just a pretense, since employees who refuse to sign the release and make discrimination allegations will not be paid their bonuses,” said Grenert, who reviewed the memo.
Lazard Capital Markets was spun off four years ago by Bruce Wasserstein’s Lazard Group, who brought the Lazard advisory operation public during the same period.