Robert Zullo, who is white, alleges race and age discrimination and retaliation. The bank denies his account and says it will contest the claims.
A former Bank of America senior vice president has filed a federal lawsuit claiming he was forced to resign after moving to care for his ailing mother, while a younger black colleague was allowed to relocate for a dependant’s needs without sanction. Robert Zullo, 55, alleges that his superior, AJ Venit, told him he “would never work in the banking industry again”. The bank says he “repeatedly failed to comply with company policy”. None of the allegations has been tested in court.
The lawsuit
Mr Zullo worked in the bank’s compliance and operational risk division. According to the 23-page complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte, he alleges that Mr Venit also warned him he would be “gone in 30 days, we just have to follow the paperwork process”. The research notes give the case as Zullo v. Bank of America, N.A., number 3:26-cv-00899, filed on 23 October 2026. They say Law360 lists it under civil rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Bloomberg Law describes a related dispute over family leave. That classification does not show that the bank breached any law. Law360 identifies Gibbons Law Group PLLC as Mr Zullo’s law firm.
A Bank of America spokesperson said: “We provide flexibility and leave accommodations for all employees, however, Mr. Zullo repeatedly failed to comply with company policy, and we strongly disagree with this account. We look forward to presenting the facts through the appropriate legal channels.”
What Mr Zullo alleges
- The arrangement: He says his supervisor, Karen Cheney, gave verbal permission in July 2024 for him to work intermittently from the bank’s Albany office while caring for his mother, who has serious conditions affecting her vision, cognition and mobility. Extensive outpatient treatment was due to begin in September 2025. He moved from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Albany, New York.
- A year without discipline: The arrangement ran for roughly a year, and the bank’s weekly manager dashboard consistently marked him as compliant, the complaint says. On 6 August 2025, Ms Cheney contacted HR seeking “additional facts and data” to support a warning, acknowledging that “the current reporting indicates compliance”.
- Discipline: A week later, the bank issued a disciplinary letter saying he had failed to spend three full days a week at his assigned Charlotte office. It allegedly said records showed he had badged in at Albany and connected remotely from residential locations. The letter came a day after he applied to make Albany his assigned office.
- The 14 August meeting: Mr Venit allegedly accused him of using the Albany office without permission and refused to let his application reach a review committee. Ms Cheney declined to confirm that she had authorised the arrangement a year earlier, according to the complaint.
- Ethics complaint and performance plan: Mr Zullo filed an internal ethics complaint alleging race and age discrimination the next day. Four days later, Ms Cheney and Mr Venit put him on a performance improvement plan citing “low performance and lack of productivity”, with the warning “TERMINATION CAN TAKE PLACE AT ANY TIME”. He says this was retaliatory and breached bank policy requiring pending employment actions to be paused after an ethics complaint. He points to consistently satisfactory evaluations, expanded responsibilities and a performance award from Ms Cheney three months earlier.
- Blocked options: The plan allegedly cancelled his flexible-work application and stopped him applying for family medical leave, temporary leave or internal transfers while his mother prepared for six months of treatment.
- Resignation: He resigned on 20 August 2025, saying his bosses had already decided to fire him, about four months before he would have qualified for substantial retirement vesting and equity benefits.
The comparison and the bonus claim
Mr Zullo says a younger black colleague, in his 30s, was allowed to move permanently from Charlotte to New Jersey because of a dependant’s needs. That bypassed the bank’s formal flexible-work approval process, and Mr Venit and Ms Cheney approved it, according to the complaint. The colleague was not required to report to a bank office in New Jersey and was later promoted to senior vice president.
He also alleges that his bosses had a financial incentive to favour black employees, because parts of their annual bonuses were tied to diversity targets, and that the colleague counted towards those goals while he did not. The bank has not responded specifically to this claim in the material seen.
The legal background
The notes say the Family and Medical Leave Act can give up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in 12 months to care for a parent with a serious health condition, subject to length of service and hours worked. It does not automatically entitle an employee to relocate permanently or work remotely. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says the ADA protects employees from discrimination because of their association with a disabled person, though it does not normally require an employer to grant an accommodation solely because of caring responsibilities. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects employees aged 40 and over, and Mr Zullo was 54 when he left, according to Bloomberg Law. The protections are relevant but do not show the bank breached them.
The notes identify attendance and badge records, written authorisations and HR correspondence, and the arrangements of comparable employees as likely evidence. The sequence of his ethics complaint and the performance plan may attract scrutiny, but it does not by itself prove retaliation. The case is at an early stage, and the damages sought, the full list of claims and whether the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made a determination first have not been established. No ruling, trial date or settlement has been found.
