A White Bank of America Executive Says the Bank Approved One Request for Everyone but Him

Bank of America markets itself nationwide as a leader on workplace fairness.

A federal lawsuit says that promise collapsed the moment he asked to care for his dying mother.

His complaint says colleagues who looked nothing like him got a yes without a fight.

Robert Zullo Asked for Time to Care for His Mother and Got Pushed Out Instead

Robert Zullo worked in Bank of America's compliance and operational risk division for more than a decade, based out of the bank's North Carolina headquarters.

By mid-2024, his mother's health had declined enough that he asked to work from a location closer to her instead of commuting to the office every day.

Zullo says the bank refused.

He kept pushing, and according to his lawsuit, that is when things got worse instead of better.

He says he was eventually forced to resign after he complained about how the request was handled.

He filed a federal lawsuit in the Western District of North Carolina on October 23.

He is 54, White, and says age and race decided how his request was treated from the start.

Younger Employees of a Different Race Got the Flexibility He Was Denied

Zullo's complaint says Bank of America let younger, non-White employees work remotely and shift locations "without issue," the exact accommodation the bank refused him.

That is two employees asking for the same thing and getting two different answers based on who they are.

Colleagues who did not share his age or his race were told yes while Zullo was told no.

A Federal Lawsuit Now Tests How Far the Rules Have Shifted

In June 2025, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services that majority group plaintiffs no longer have to clear a higher evidentiary bar than everyone else to bring a discrimination claim.

Before that ruling, courts in roughly half the country required White or male plaintiffs to show extra background circumstances suggesting their employer was the rare one that discriminates against majority groups.

The justices scrapped that double standard entirely, and employment attorneys have tracked a wave of new reverse discrimination filings in the months since.

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas has made exactly this kind of claim a priority for the agency, warning employers that "it doesn't matter if you call that DEI or belonging or 'EO' or anything: if it functions like that, it's illegal."

Zullo's complaint invokes both Title VII's race protections and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, meaning Bank of America faces exposure on two separate fronts if a jury believes him.

What Zullo's Case Says About Corporate Diversity Promises

A bank that spends millions marketing its commitment to fairness cannot get away with running two sets of rules behind closed doors.

Zullo's allegations, if proven, describe exactly that.

Vice President JD Vance has called DEI itself a deliberate program of discrimination primarily against White men, and whatever one thinks of that framing broadly, Zullo's complaint gives it a specific, documented test case.

The Ames ruling exists precisely so a case like this can be heard on the same terms as any other discrimination claim, not dismissed before a jury ever sees the facts.

Bank of America has not filed a public response to the complaint, and the allegations remain unproven.

But the lawsuit itself is a warning to every large employer still running quiet, race based carve outs under the banner of diversity: the legal shield that used to make those policies hard to challenge in court is gone.

Sources:

• Grace Elletson, "Bank of America Ex-VP Files Race, Age Bias Suit Over FMLA Leave," Bloomberg Law, October 26, 2026.
• Law360 Employment Authority, "Ex-Exec's Bias Suit Says BofA Penalized Him for Family Care," Law360, October 2026.
• U.S. Supreme Court, "Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services," U.S. Supreme Court, June 5, 2025.
• Steptoe LLP, "EEOC Signals Increased Enforcement Against Corporate DEI Programs," Steptoe, 2026.
• Complaint, Zullo v. Bank of America N.A., U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Case No. 3:26-cv-00899, filed October 23, 2026.