TIAA axed both women who built its compliance program, suit claims

In the same exchange, the complaint states, the covering manager attached a report of the worker’s complete time-off history going back to 2024, before her management even began, signaling that past use of an unlimited benefit was now under retroactive scrutiny.

Then came the performance review.

In January 2026 – weeks before the only negative review of her tenure – the covering manager’s own chief of staff sent the worker formal written recognition. According to the complaint, he praised “the clarity and depth of her presentation as truly outstanding” and described her “leadership and subject matter expertise as invaluable assets.”

On January 29, 2026, the covering manager delivered the year-end review over video call, the complaint states. She read the colleague’s overwhelmingly positive feedback aloud, then mentioned she had added her own written comments and told the worker to read them after the call. The negative portion was based on approximately three weeks of actual observation, according to the filing. The electronic sign-off deadline was the next day. The worker submitted a written rebuttal. When she asked for examples to support the claims, the covering manager could not provide any, according to the complaint.

On February 3, 2026, the worker attended a company-sponsored, invitation-only Black History Month event at NASDAQ organized by a TIAA business resource group, the filing states. While she was at the event, a “time sensitive” report was demanded with a same-day deadline. The covering manager then reprimanded the worker in writing – copying a colleague – and instructed her to report her whereabouts when away from her desk, according to the complaint.