普华永道（澳洲）性骚扰案达成和解
据2008年3月29日《The Age》报道，澳洲历史上最高金额的性骚扰和性别歧视索赔案经过三年的纠缠昨天终于落幕，会计行业巨头、著名会计师事务所普华永道与当事人Christina Rich达成庭外和解，原告撤下$11,000,000元索赔请求，专家估计普华永道支付给Christina Rich高达数百万澳元的赔偿金。 作为普华永道澳洲公司的税务合伙人之一，原告Christina Rich年薪超过$900,000元，她在该公司工作了九年，成为税务合伙人七年。 Former tax partner set for historic payout after PwC settles harassment case March 29, 2008 CHRISTINA Rich walked into a Sydney court with a large smile and it did not leave her face throughout the long-awaited settlement of her landmark sexual harassment claim against accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ms Rich, a former tax partner who worked at the company for nine years, had been seeking $11 million from PwC for damage to her reputation, loss of clients, lost earnings and counselling after a series of alleged sexual harassment incidents from 1999 to 2004. The parties reached a settlement after a three-year case in the Federal Court in Sydney, following mediation last week. The terms of the settlement were secret and both parties were bound by confidentiality agreements. But an industry insider who is highly experienced in sexual harassment cases claimed the payout would have been worth several million dollars — one of the largest in a discrimination case in Australian history. Ms Rich, who was at one time the company's highest-paid female employee, had alleged it had a "boys' club" culture of sexual harassment and victimisation. She accused some partners of making unwanted sexual advances and saying she won work because of her breasts. Ms Rich also claimed that one partner, Stuart Edwards, had refused her permission to attend numerous conferences, had kissed her as a greeting despite her protestations, and had said another partner's performance would be affected by her being pregnant. However, in a statement yesterday, Ms Rich accepted that Mr Edwards denied the allegations against him, including his denial that he placed notes under the door at a Santa Monica conference. She also accepted that Mr Edwards believed the kisses on the cheek had been platonic. "Ms Rich's intention in pursuing her complaints was never to cause stress or concern to any individual, including Mr Stuart Edwards, and she regrets if any such individual has suffered such stress," the statement said. "Equally PwC regrets that this has been a stressful time for Ms Rich." Outside court, a jubilant Ms Rich told reporters she was happy with the result. "I would like to thank my family, my friends, my many supporters and my legal team," she said. She described her case against PwC as having been a "long process" and she was glad it was over. Ms Rich was reportedly paid more than $900,000 a year for advising companies on their international tax arrangements. She had been a partner at PwC for seven years. The industry expert, who did not wish to be named, said the fact she was such a high earner and had been out of work for several years following her employment at PwC, would have given her the right to "a good monetary claim". "It is very difficult to determine what the exact settlement might be because it is an unprecedented case," he said. "(But) it would not be at all surprising if it was a sum in the multi-millions. "It would have to be close to being one of the largest settlements of a discrimination case in Australia."
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