A JPMorgan employee was told to quit or be fired. He says he was let go for being gay

A JPMorgan employee was told to quit or be fired. He says he was let go for being gay Exclusive details: Brian Larson, who says his treatment at work exacerbated his trichotillomania, told The Independent that he ‘faced retaliation that ultimately derailed my career at the firm’ - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in An openly gay senior associate at JPMorgan Chase claims he was pushed out of his job by a homophobic boss who made his life so miserable, he began experiencing panic attacks, severe depression, and a resurgence of trichotillomania, a psychological disorder marked by an irresistible urge to pull out one’s own hair. Brian Larson hadn’t experienced a flare-up since childhood, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday and obtained by The Independent. The condition, which is often triggered by stress, resulted in “noticeable bald patches on his scalp, eyebrows and eyelashes,” Larson’s complaint states. The situation also caused Larson intense anxiety, the complaint goes on. It says he developed insomnia, gained between 20 and 25 pounds, and was beset by chronic migraines that did not respond to treatment. In October 2023, after 18 months on the job, Larson – who served as the co-chair of PRIDE Tri-State, a workplace affinity group meant to engage and support JPMorgan’s LGBTQ+ employees – was called into HR over about $40 in expenses, according to the complaint, which was filed September 23 in Manhattan federal court. “During that meeting, HR told him that there were two Uber rides that he expensed to JPMorgan that ‘raised questions about his trustworthiness and honesty,’” the complaint goes on. “The two Uber rides were from June 2023 Pride Month events that Mr. Larson attended as a part of his work with PRIDE.” Larson explained that he had gotten approval from his manager to attend the events, and that he had been told to expense the Uber rides to JPMorgan, the complaint contends. The manager corroborated Larson’s story and HR let the issue go. However, four days later, Larson was once again contacted by HR and told he needed to quit or be fired, according to the complaint. When Larson asked why, he claims HR told him that his time with the Chase Associate Program, the pathway he took into the job, “had run out.” If Larson didn’t resign, the termination would stay in his permanent record and he would have a difficult time ever being hired at JPMorgan again, the complaint states. “I was proud to build my career at JPMorgan Chase and believed deeply in the firm’s stated commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion,” Larson told The Independent in an email. “When I experienced conduct that I believed was discriminatory and raised concerns through the appropriate channels, I expected those concerns to be taken seriously. Instead, as alleged in the complaint, I faced retaliation that ultimately derailed my career at the firm.” Larson said he brought the case “because no employee should have to choose between being open about who they are and feeling secure in their job, or fear professional consequences for reporting discrimination.” “I hope this case helps reinforce that workplace inclusion must be reflected not only in public commitments, but in how employees are actually treated when they speak up,” he said. In its own statement, a JPMorgan spokesman said, “We take these allegations very seriously and after a thorough internal investigation we found no evidence to substantiate Mr. Larson’s claims.” A source at the bank told The Independent that Larson’s managers found “gaps” in his performance and provided coaching on improving the quality of his work, receptiveness to feedback and communication. Further, the source said, participation in the particular program Larson was in does not guarantee a permanent role, and that Larson eventually resigned after not securing one. To Larson, the atmosphere at JPMorgan was “lowkey homophobic,” his complaint states. It says one of Larson’s supervisors constantly harangued him about his participation in PRIDE, saying, among other things, that Larson “needed to keep his ‘gay job’ separate from his work at JPMorgan, that ‘DEI wasn’t going to save [him],’ and ‘just because [Mr. Larson is] gay doesn’t mean [he] get[s] a leg up.’” The same supervisor allegedly targeted Larson, who received the highest praise in his performance reviews, by removing him from projects and giving him a “very low rating” on his next review. This, according to Larson, made it impossible for him to move to another department, applying to roughly 50 different roles internally, without success. “Mr. Larson could sense that the individual team members who interviewed him liked him and were excited about his candidacy,” the complaint alleges. “However, in each case, he seemed to hit an invisible wall when his application advanced. It became obvious that [Larson’s] retaliatory performance review and/or other negative information associated with his complaints of discrimination was affecting his ability to obtain another position within JPMorgan.” Larson’s complaint also takes aim at JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who he claims asked a gay executive to explain the Kinsey scale – which frames sexual orientation as a spectrum, not a binary. Dimon then purportedly said he “could be 17 percent gay,” which Larson’s complaint describes as “both odd and offensive.” Following his separation from the company, Larson applied to 25 or 30 new positions, both at JPMorgan and at other companies. In March 2024, the complaint says he was hired as a senior manager at a financial services management consultancy, where he received “positive feedback” on his job performance. However, Larson’s migraines ultimately became too much to bear, and he was unable to continue working, the complaint states. In July 2025, Larson left his position there and is now subsisting on Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. A statement released by attorneys Julia Elmaleh-Sachs and Samantha Wilhelm, who are representing Larson, said JPMorgan violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects LGBTQ+ employees from workplace discrimination. “As alleged in the complaint, Mr. Larson was a high-performing employee who deserved recognition for his contributions to the workplace, not harassment for his involvement in a LGBTQ+ pride group,” their statement said. “We look forward to holding JPMorgan Chase accountable.” Larson is now seeking back and future lost wages, benefits and health care coverage, as well as compensatory damages for emotional distress, suffering, humiliation, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and “other non-pecuniary losses,” plus punitive damages to be determined by a jury.