“J. P. Morgan Chase has dismissed two investment bankers, one of whom was a managing director, after a fellow banker complained that they had sexually accosted a woman who worked with them, current and former employees at the company said this week'” writes Patrick McGeehan in today’s New York Times.

“The two bankers who were dismissed, Palden Gyuimed Namgyal and Norman Gretzinger, made unwanted and inappropriate advances toward the woman in a bar, these people said. When the woman, a less-senior investment banker at J. P. Morgan, protested, another high-ranking investment banker who was there intervened, they said. He later reported the incident to the firm’s personnel department, which investigated.”

“After the woman and other employees who were there supported the account of the incident, the firm dismissed Mr. Namgyal and Mr. Gretzinger two weeks ago, these people said. That swift and severe action against high-ranking and highly paid employees shows how seriously some big investment banks now treat complaints of sexual harassment, some people on Wall Street said.”

“The men, who live in Bronxville, N.Y., declined to comment on their dismissals.”

“Employees in many industries are routinely fired for harassment and discrimination. But brokerage firms and trading floors have largely retained reputations as places where such behavior often goes unpunished. They have repeatedly been sued by women who complained of unfair and sometimes demeaning treatment.”

“Two of the biggest brokerage firms, Merrill Lynch and the Smith Barney unit of Citigroup, settled class-action suits that were filed by women brokers in the 1990’s. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing another big securities firm, Morgan Stanley, on behalf of women who worked in its investment bank. A trial in that case is expected to begin later this year.”

” ‘This goes right under the category of ethics, and we are in a whole new climate,’ said Janet Hanson, a money manager who founded 85 Broads, a network of women who have worked at Goldman, Sachs. ‘This may just be the beginning of companies’ behaving in a very, very different manner because the liability is too great. The Street is getting that message.’ “

“Ms. Hanson, the chief executive of Milestone Capital in Yonkers, said she believed that J. P. Morgan was taking a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to dealing with employee misconduct and that the firm was less tolerant of such behavior than its peers.”

“Kristin C. Lemkau, a spokeswoman for J. P. Morgan, declined to discuss details of the incident or the dismissals. Describing the firm’s policies, she said: ‘We do not tolerate sexual harassment or discriminatory behavior of any kind. Employees who are found in violation of the firm’s policies are terminated without exception.’ “

“The incident that led to the dismissals occurred after a holiday party given by a senior investment banker at J. P. Morgan. After leaving the party, a group of the bank’s employees went to a bar, where the two bankers pressed up against the unidentified woman, sandwiching her between them.”