A
former
loan
officer
at


Guaranteed
Rate
(G-Rate)
has
sued
the
lender
and
two
managers
for
allegedly
discriminating
against
her
on
the
basis
of
gender,
failing
to
compensate
her
equally
to
male
coworkers
with
similar
performance
and
subjecting
her
to
sexual
harassment.
In
response,
the
lender
said
it’s
conducting
a
detailed
investigation
into
the
claims.

Megan
McDermott
has
also
alleged
that
someone
at
the
Chicago-based
lender
accessed
her
business

Facebook

profile
without
authorization
and
used
her
brand
and
referral
network
to
secure
business
after
her
resignation.
G-Rate
replied
to
emails
as
if
she
was
still
an
employee
and
sent
customers
mailers
with
her
name
and

National
Multistate
Licensing
System
(NMLS)
number
in
January
and
March
2023,
she
claims.
  

McDermott
joined
G-Rate
when
the
lender
acquired

Superior
Mortgage
in
2012,
and
resigned
in
November
2022.

In
a
lawsuit
filed
in
late
February
in
New
Jersey,
she
accused
G-Rate,
Joseph
Moschella
and
Jon
Lamkin
of
violating
New
Jersey
laws
regarding
discrimination,
equal
pay
and
unfair
competition.
She
also
included
allegations
of
breach
of
contract,
misappropriation
of
likeness
and
tortious
interference
with
prospective
contracts.

McDermott’s
attorney
Joshua
Boyette,
a
partner
at

Swartz
Swidler
LLC,
wrote
to
HousingWire
that
the
case
illustrates
that
even
when
“the
pay
appears
to
be
distributed
fairly
and
based
on
objective
criteria,
companies
can
still
use
practices
such
as
retention
bonuses
or
the
unfair
allocation
of
opportunities
to
perpetuate
gender-based
pay
discrimination.”

Added
Boyette:
“One
reason
for
the
stubborn
persistence
of
pay
inequity
is
that
in
order
to
ensure
you’re
being
paid
fairly,
you
first
need
to
know
you’re
not
being
paid
the
same
as
everyone
else
—
and
a
company
that
is
willing
to
engage
in
pay
inequity
is
also
going
to
be
the
company
least
likely
to
engage
in
pay
transparency.”

A
spokesperson
for
G-Rate
said
in
an
emailed
response
that
the
company
“recently
received”
a
copy
of
the
complaint
and
will
conduct
a
“detailed
investigation.”
Any
claims
made
by
Megan
will
be
“handled
appropriately”
and
“we
look
forward
to
an
opportunity
to
meet
with
Megan
and
resolving
this
matter
amicably
for
all
parties,”
the
spokesperson
added.

“We
know
Megan
very
well
and
treasured
her
10
years
with
the
company.
It
is
people
like
Megan
that
have
made
Guaranteed
Rate
the
great
company
that
it
is
today.
We
love
her
spirit,
infectious
energy,
and
relentless
commitment
to
serving
her
customers.
At
no
point
did
we
want
her
to
leave
the
Guaranteed
Rate
and
we
would
welcome
her
back
with
open
arms,”
the
spokesperson
wrote.

According
to
the
lawsuit,
McDermott
was
a
“high-performing”
LO
who
received
“a
significant
number
of
inquiries
to
work
for
different
mortgage”
companies
from
2020
to
2022,
which
she
believes
“would
include
substantial
and
significant

signing
bonuses.”

McDermott
claims
that
she
asked
the
two
managers
for
a
retention
bonus
in
January
2022;
however,
they
said
no
LOs
were
receiving
them.
After
two
months,
she
became
aware
that
male
LOs
with
a
comparable
level
of
success
were
receiving
retention
bonuses,
while
she
and
other
female
LOs
were
not
receiving
them,
the
lawsuit
alleges.

In
response
to
a
new
request,
Moschella
told
her
that
“loan
officers
had
gotten
retention
bonuses,
but
that
he
could
not
provide
her
one,”
the
lawsuit
states.
The
document
also
says
that
Moschella’s
decision
was
only
based
on
her
“membership
in
a
protected
class,
her
gender.”

Regarding
her
compensation,
McDermott,
who
was

paid
on
a
commission
basis
only,
said
G-Rate
at
various
times
denied
her
commission,
identifying
the
mortgages
as
originated
by
another
employee. 

In
addition,
when
she
reached
the
lender’s
top-producers
category
known
as
“Chairman’s
Circle,”
McDermott
claimed
that
her
commission
should
have
increased
from
72
to
84
basis
points
on
the
loan
volume,
but
it
did
not
happen
despite
the
increase
being
given
to
male
LOs.

According
to

Scotsman
Guide,
a
verified

ranking
based
on
information
sent
by
lenders
and
mortgage
pros,
McDermott
originated
about
$113
million
in
2020,
$109
million
in
2021
and
$44
million
in
2022,
when
she
left
G-Rate
to
join
rival


CrossCountry
Mortgage
(CCM).
Another
source,
mortgage
tech
platform

Modex,
which
collects
data from public
records nationwide,
shows
she
originated
over
$95
million
in
2020,
$93
million
in
2021
and
$50
million
in
2022.

G-Rate
produced
over
$73
billion,
$114
billion
and
$53
billion,
respectively,
in
mortgage
volume
in
2020,
2021
and
2022,
according
to

Inside
Mortgage
Finance
estimates.

McDermott
also
brought
allegations
of
sexual
harassment
against
Lamkin,
who
in
2015
alledgedly
described
“in
graphic
and
offensive
terms
Plaintiff’s
sexual
activity
which
would
have
led
to
pregnancy.”
McDermott
said
she
told
Moschella
about
Lamkin’s
behavior,
but
he
asked
her
not
to
make
a
formal
complaint.

During
her
tenure
at
the
company,
McDermott
alleges
that
Lamkin
regularly
screamed
at
her
and
used
gender-based
and
demeaning
slurs,
which
also
happened
to
other
female
employees.
She
complained
to
Human
Resources
in
2019
but
said
the
department
failed
to
do
anything
to
investigate
his
behavior. 

Lamkin
and
Moschella
did
not
return
a
request
for
comment.

McDermott
asks
for
damages
and
a
jury
trial. 

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