A former Edward Jones financial advisor alleges a company trainer “pressured” her into “a forced sexual encounter” during her time with the firm.
In a lawsuit filed April 6 in East Texas federal court, Amanda Daugherty accuses the wealth manager of gender-based discrimination and unlawful termination, including unwanted advances by another advisor she says is “a sexual predator and repeat offender.” The other advisor, Chris J. Gervais, moved on to a new firm without any U5 citations, while Daugherty alleges the company used the forced encounter in 2016 as part of its basis for firing her.
The case comes only two weeks after Edward Jones settled a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by Black advisors for $34 million and amid a growing push by investors seeking to end mandatory arbitration of employees’ and advisors’ sexual harassment cases. It’s not clear whether Edward Jones will seek to compel arbitration of Daugherty’s case. The 37-year-old advisor from Nacogdoches is seeking damages and reinstatement at her former branch.
“Despite having knowledge of Gervais’ prior tendencies and having delivered plaintiff to Gervais for grooming and mentoring, Edward Jones wholly failed to prevent and promptly correct the harassing behavior, but instead brought adverse action against the victim making a formal warning of her ‘unprofessional conduct’ part of her employment record,” the lawsuit states.
“Eventually, Edward Jones used this event as a basis for the unlawful termination of the plaintiff,” the lawsuit continues, “despite plaintiff being the victim of the sexual grooming and harassment by the team leader Gervais.”
In an emailed statement, Edward Jones spokeswoman Catherine Stengel said the firm is reviewing the lawsuit. She declined further comment on Daugherty’s specific allegations, beyond the company’s statement.
“We take allegations of this nature seriously and are committed to a safe and healthy workplace of belonging for all,” Stengel said. “Edward Jones terminated the employment of Chris Gervais due to these allegations in 2016.”
Gervais didn’t respond to inquiries to his Winona, Minnesota-based practice, Gervais Wealth Management. He told the wealth management news website Advisor Hub that he had “nothing to say” about Daugherty’s allegations until he spoke with counsel.
Representatives for Gervais’ broker-dealer since 2016, LPL Financial, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Gervais was part of a team training Daugherty in December 2015 in Tempe, Arizona, for a promotion after she had made her branch profitable, according to the lawsuit. At the end of the week-long session, he propositioned her outside her hotel room, including by telling her the company is “just like the Olympics, where condoms are the most purchased item by the athletes,” the lawsuit says. After she declined his advances, Gervais sent her sexually explicit text messages and “forcibly kissed” her the next day, according to the lawsuit.
Six months later, Gervais bought airline tickets for her to fly to Minnesota under the guise of further training, the lawsuit states. She learned there was no actual training event upon arrival, according to the lawsuit. While she was at his home, he “aggressively kissed” her, then “pressured” her “into a forced sexual encounter,” the lawsuit alleges.
She later discovered that Gervais received counseling about his behavior and that the company knew about prior incidents, according to the lawsuit.
“Despite Gervais’ status as a sexual predator and repeat offender, Edward Jones’ management permitted Gervais to continue in his leadership role grooming young female employees of Edward Jones at out-of-state mandatory training events which led directly to plaintiff’s victimization,” the lawsuit states.
The company permitted him to resign “without further adverse action” and with a U5 dismissal note that he had “voluntarily resigned” from the firm that didn’t include any mention of the allegations, according to the lawsuit. Daugherty’s own U5 note cited “non-conformity with HR policies/guidelines,” the lawsuit states.
In 2018, while still with Edward Jones, Daugherty says her branch office administrator began making frequent mistakes. After she notified the firm’s associate relations team in early 2019, though, she found herself being questioned about leaving her breast pumping apparatus drying in the branch’s kitchen area and bringing her children to work sometimes, the lawsuit says. The company terminated her in April 2019 and handed over the branch to the son of another advisor, according to the lawsuit. The office administrator and other advisors proceeded to disparage Daugherty to clients, such as alleging she had overcharged them, the lawsuit says.
Daugherty’s practice is now affiliated with Harbor Financial Services after tenures with Advisor Group’s FSC Securities and Raymond James following her nearly four years with Edward Jones, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. She filed complaints with the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission in October 2019, the lawsuit states. The state agency issued a notice of dismissal and right to file a civil action in February.