UBS is being sued by a self-proclaimed white Republican who contends he suffered discrimination after being assigned to a team specializing in environmental, social and governance research, or ESG.
Cody Rice
Rice said in his lawsuit that, as a registered Republican and white man, he did not fit the stereotype for the sort of person who might embrace ESG. He contended, though, that he "brought a perspective that could help position UBS's ESG service to reach a wider audience."
READ MORE:
Rather than being embraced, though, he says he was greeted with a hostile work environment. His suit accuses UBS of 17 violations related to race, sex, disability and age discrimination, among other things.
A UBS spokesman declined to comment. Rice's lawyers did not return emails or phone calls.
Promoted to the ESG team
Rice, who lives in Girdwood, Alaska, said in his suit that he came to UBS in 2020 after working the six previous years at the energy research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. Rice's expertise in the energy industry led to him being interviewed and quoted in various pieces by the
Rice joined UBS in March 2020 as a data strategist in its global research and evidence lab, which provided data sets and analysis to client companies. His suit says he performed well and was eventually promoted to UBS' ESG team, which helped businesses in various industries understand how they might be affected by environmental, social and governance considerations.
Rice said he worked with clients in finance, housing, healthcare and other industries. He helped discover weaknesses in firms' cybersecurity defenses and was able to accurately predict that one client would fall prey to an attack, according to the suit.
But Rice saw no benefits from those accomplishments when he was promoted to the ESG team, he said. Instead, he was hit with questions from his new colleagues about his "abilities and competence from day one," the suit says. The lawsuit specifically names Victoria Kalb, UBS global head of ESG and sustainability research, and Julie Hudson, then head of ESG and sustainability.
Rice said Kalb and Hudson showed hostility toward him through their body language, routinely dismissed his ideas about ESG and frequently cancelled or didn't show up for scheduled meetings. He said the two would show more openness toward ideas coming from people who were not white men and would give him assignments that were either impossible to complete or that couldn't be finished by the deadlines they had set.
The ups and downs of ESG
ESG was once
Rice said in his suit that he is committed to "racial and gender equality and to responsible corporate citizenship." He said he was the only white male working on UBS's ESG team and that his personal characteristics along with his status as a registered Republican were a "combination not commonly identified with ESG."
Rice contends he eventually complained about his treatment to an executive at the data lab and was told to "try another angle." Rice said he read a pair of books Hudson had written — Food Policy and the Environmental Credit Crunch and From Red to Green?: How the Financial Credit Crunch Could Bankrupt the Environment — in an attempt to ingratiate himself with his colleagues. He emailed his thoughts on the books to Hudson and tried to show the writings had influenced his thoughts on ESG — all to no avail, according to the suit.
Rice said he developed severe anxiety because of the hostility and put on weight from "stress eating." He tried to raise his concerns with other executives but saw no improvements in his relations with Kalb and Hudson, according to the suit.
When it came time for Rice's performance review at the end of 2022, he received low marks and no comments on what he had done wrong or what he could improve, the suit says. Rice complained to another executive in the evidence lab only to be told there was nothing he could do and to "sharpen up [his] résumé."
Shown the door
Rice said he was let go from UBS a few weeks after a Feb. 14, 2023, phone call in which he discussed with another supervisor how he was being treated by Hudson and Kalb. The supervisor, according to the suit, responded to his complaints by saying "I'd probably lose the will to live after a while" — a remark Rice considered insensitive given his mental health struggles.
Rice said the supervisor soon stopped attending scheduled calls with him and his employment at UBS was terminated on March 23, 2023. Some of Rice's colleagues in the evidence lab also saw their positions eliminated as part of what the firm called a restructuring-related layoff; but they were moved to other departments rather than let go, according to the suit.
Rice said the loss of his job has worsened his anxiety and depression and deprived his family of its sole source of income. "UBS's actions have further humiliated Mr. Rice, impacting his professional reputation and job, as potential employers wrongly assume UBS terminated him due to performance issues," according to the suit.
Rice's suit accuses UBS of violating federal and New York state and city laws proscribing race discrimination, retaliation, sex discrimination, age discrimination, disability discrimination and human rights. It seeks reinstatement of Rice's position at UBS, as well as back pay plus interest, unpaid overtime, reimbursement for Social Security and other benefits, damages for pain and suffering and future economic loss, punitive damages and attorneys' fees, among other things.
