NEW YORK, May 15 (UPI) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent hours Thursday being questioned by lawyers in a discrimination suit filed by employees of the company he founded.
The class-action suit alleges that Bloomberg L.P. discriminated against pregnant women if they took maternity leave, The New York Times reports. Bloomberg is not a defendant since the suit involves events after he left the company to run for mayor.
The mayor's deposition began at 9 a.m.
Bloomberg founded the financial news service and continues to hold a majority of the stock. The plaintiffs do charge that he was involved indirectly in the discrimination.
"Michael Bloomberg is responsible for the creation of the systemic, top-down culture of discrimination," they say in court papers.
The company has been sued several times by female employees alleging discrimination. Top executives point out that the number of plaintiffs involved is significant but small compared to the total of more than 10,000 people employed.
