In the latest instance of alleged sexual discrimination by female sales reps in the pharmaceutical industry, four women who used to work for Forest Laboratories have filed a lawsuit charging the drugmaker with gender discrimination related to pregnancies, maternity leaves and caregiving responsibilities, as well as verbal harassment. They are seeking $100 million in damages. The lawsuit comes amid a growing number of such complaints filed by big sales reps against some of the largest drugmakers. Last year, AstraZeneca agreed to pay $250,000 to 124 women who were subjected to pay discrimination and a class action lawsuit was filed alleging that Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals discriminated against female employees . Two years ago, Novartis agreed to pay $152.5 million to settle a sex discrimination class action lawsuit brought by female sales reps.
