Accountant Sues PwC For Racial Discrimination

Tue, 14 Jul 2009

An accountant is suing her former employers for £40million after claiming she was bullied and made to feel like a prostitute by her colleagues and bosses.

Romanian Mihaela Popa says she suffered a string of racist and sexual jibes while working at the Big 4 accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Miss Popa earned £41,000 a year as a forensic accountant in PwC’s London office, but claims the discrimination prevented her from becoming a partner at the firm, which would have meant an annual salary of at least £500,000 a year plus bonuses.

The 31-year-old claims that one colleague told her "Eastern Europeans are whores" and referred to her as "Mihaela and porn", while others accused her of only being in London to "live it up".

She also alleges she was given menial tasks to perform, ignored for promotion and even accused of being a Communist spy for the Romanian secret police.

Miss Popa is now demanding £40 million in compensation for loss of earnings and hurt feelings, believed to be the largest amount ever claimed in a race discrimination case.

Speaking in court, she said the jibe about Eastern European women being whores summarises the way she was perceived and the treatment she experienced.

Miss Popa claims the sexual harassment and race discrimination started while she was employed PwC’s Chicago branch, but became much worse after she was transferred to London in September 2004.

She says she was left with no other choice but to resign in November 2006 after the treatment from her work colleagues had left her suffering from depression and anxiety.

PricewaterhouseCoopers strenuously denies the accountant’s allegations and said it will be "vigorously defending" her tribunal action.
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