Documents filed in federal court in Springfield on September 11th allege that the leadership of Pittsfield Cooperative Bank – including Marchetti – created a work environment rife with sexual discrimination, harassment, emotional distress, and hostility.
The suit was filed by Victoria May, who began working for the bank as Vice President of Marketing in June 2016 and was terminated on February 1st, 2023, according to the suit. It describes a workplace where she experienced “constant sexual and sexist remarks made on an daily basis,” leading to her “suffering lost wages, front and back pay, [and] emotional distress.”
The defendants in the suit include Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, Marchetti, Executive Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer Harry “Chip” Moore, and President & CEO Jay Anderson.
The full tally of charges in May’s suit includes two counts of sexual discrimination, two counts of retaliation, discrimination on the basis of gender in payment of wages, hostile work environment, aiding and abetting discriminatory acts, unlawful interference with plaintiff’s rights, intentional infliction of emotional distress, violation of Federal Equal Pay Act, and finally two counts of violation of Family and Medical Leave Act.
May alleges that women at Pittsfield Cooperative Bank regularly received annual raises half the size of those received by men – 2-2.5% to their 4-5% – including Marchetti. She says that while she was asked to share office space with another female employee of the bank, the defendants spent $5,000 on purchasing a door for a male counterpart’s office who worked under Marchetti. The suit describes Moore’s tendency to watch pornography on his work computer as a “well-known secret,” and says his brazen and regular sexual harassment of another female employee had directly contributed to her resignation. May alleges that other women quit the bank over similar treatment, including one after being propositioned by Anderson and another who Moore also regularly and openly discussed sexually in front of May. May claims that Anderson and Moore were known to play golf and drink during office hours, and that Moore and other male executives returned from a trip to Las Vegas talking about sex workers they had been with.
Marchetti, a senior vice president at the bank, is accused of regularly “denigrating, harassing, and demeaning” May. In one episode, Marchetti is alleged to have flown off the handle over May being assigned a responsibility at the bank over him. According to the document, “he began yelling, red-faced and sweating, pointing in Plaintiff’s face, calling her a bitch and other derogatory names, told her to shut up, and told her she did not know how to do things.” May claims that Anderson was present for the entire 30-to-40-minute tirade, and did nothing to stop Marchetti other than to tell him to “get ahold of yourself.” May said she left the exchange to cry in the bank parking lot.
Despite May claiming to have reported the incident to PCB’s HR department, no action was taken against Marchetti, who allegedly continued a campaign of harassment against May afterwards for months. May says Marchetti followed up on the situation by consistently sabotaging and undermining her efforts to perform the duties associated with the bank role in question. The suit alleges that due to Marchetti’s “constant barrage of abuse” toward her that was tolerated by bank leadership, Moore also began mistreating her despite otherwise excellent performance reviews. After complaining about Marchetti directly to Anderson and Moore, they allegedly began a campaign of retaliation against her. May says Moore threatened to fire her repeatedly starting in late 2022, and yelled at her in front of fellow staff members in a mid-January incident. When May took a leave of absence as a result of stress related to the situation, she was fired by the bank.
The document also alleges that “in either late October or early November 2022, after Plaintiff complained to HR about Defendant Marchetti, he admitted to her that he had been in trouble in the past with the Bank due to having called at least one other female employee a ‘bitch.’”
Marchetti, who is in his eighth non-consecutive term on the Pittsfield city council, has been one the city’s top vote getters for years. In his bid to succeed outgoing two-term Mayor Linda Tyer, he won September’s preliminary election over rival and former councilor John Krol and at-large councilor Karen Kalinowksy, who was eliminated from the race.
While Krol has dealt with his own campaign drama over allegations that he embezzled money from a nonprofit cat rescue, news of May’s suit against Pittsfield Cooperative Bank and Marchetti comes just days before the November 7th general.
Marchetti has centered his work at the bank in his message to voters, as he did in his opening remarks at a debate at the Berkshire Athenaeum in early September.
“My business background and the last 35 years at the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, combined with my government experience, is a solid foundation of what needs to lead the city forward,” said the city council president.
Marchetti was endorsed by Governor Maura Healey earlier this month. She specifically referenced his work at the bank in remarks made to reporters in Pittsfield.
“Peter is the right person for the job," said the governor. "His many, many years of experience, both as a banker in the banking community and community development, his work with young people, his service on the city council, it will mean a lot, I think, to the future of Pittsfield. It's certainly a vision that resonates with the vision that I have for the Commonwealth. So, I'm excited to support Peter in his candidacy. I think he'll make a terrific mayor.”
WAMC requested comment on this story from Marchetti, Anderson, Moore, and May’s attorney Janet R. Ruggieri of Worcester firm Murphy & Rudolf, LLP.
Citing the ongoing nature of the litigation, Ruggieri declined to comment.
Pittsfield Cooperative Bank offered WAMC the following statement:
“Pittsfield Cooperative Bank is aware that Victoria May has filed a legal complaint containing allegations of harassment and discrimination. Ms. May is a former bank employee. The Bank will not comment on the circumstances surrounding her separation from employment.
In January of this year, Ms. May made an internal complaint of sexual harassment against one co-worker. The Bank responded swiftly and decidedly by hiring an outside investigator to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation into her complaint. The outside investigator the Bank engaged to review Ms. May’s concerns conducted a thorough investigation and concluded that Ms. May’s complaints were unsubstantiated. Ms. May’s complaint to the Bank in January did not contain the same allegations she now asserts in the Complaint filed in the United States District Court; rather, it seems her allegations have evolved over time to become more and more salacious.
The Bank is committed to a workplace that is safe, inclusive, and free of conduct that violates the Bank’s policies, including its anti-harassment and discrimination policy. The Bank has a reasonable policy concerning reporting complaints of harassment and takes prompt action when such complaints are reported. The Bank disputes many of the allegations in Ms. May’s complaint and intends to vigorously defend itself and its employees and officers against these allegations. The Bank looks forward to its opportunity to address Ms. May’s accusations in the appropriate forum.”
Asked by WAMC if the bank will release the findings of the outside investigation or if any remedial actions were recommended for Marchetti after the investigation, a spokesperson declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
For his part, Marchetti told WAMC he cannot comment on pending litigation other than to say he disputes many of the allegations.
While May’s suit doesn’t name a specific dollar amount, it seeks “full amount of her damages incurred as a result of Defendants’ unlawful actions, including without limit lost wages, consequential damages, emotional distress, punitive damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs incurred,” as well as “other and further relief as the Court deems appropriate.”
You can read May's full suit against Pittsfield Cooperative Bank here:
