Point72 Intern Lawsuit: Race Claims, $20M Demand, and NY Rules

The Point72 intern lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court in August 2025 by Andrew Pardo, a former 2023 summer intern at Steven A. Cohen’s hedge fund. Pardo alleges Point72 fired him after he asked to move desks to accommodate his post-traumatic stress disorder, and he brings claims under New York State and New York City human rights laws for disability and race discrimination. The complaint demands $20 million. Point72 has called it “ridiculous and without merit.”¹²

What Pardo Says Happened

Pardo had been diagnosed with PTSD stemming from physical abuse. According to the complaint, his assigned desk at Point72 put his back to a busy corridor, and unpredictable movement behind him was a “specific somatic trigger” that caused him to “experience flashbacks, panic symptoms, and emotional dysregulation.” He asked to be moved to a desk in a less-trafficked area.¹

The lawsuit says Point72 initially granted the request, but from the moment Pardo disclosed his condition the firm treated him “not as an asset to be supported but as a liability to be managed.” He was fired shortly afterward.¹

Pardo also alleges he had an episode on his first day and did not attend an intern happy hour. The complaint describes these events as “informal rites of passage” where interns were expected to consume large quantities of alcohol in front of staff and recruiters, and it characterizes the broader firm culture as “characterized by heavy drinking.” Pardo argues that culture made the environment hostile given his PTSD.¹ The complaint further alleges that a firm employee smoked marijuana with interns, and that Point72 employees prank-called interns and falsely accused them of cheating on financial models as a hazing practice tied to the prospect of a return offer.³

The lawsuit also notes that Pardo turned down a return offer with Bank of America’s investment banking team to take the Point72 internship, a fact he uses to frame the career harm he says the firing caused.³

The Race Discrimination and Recruiting Claims

The complaint pairs its disability claims with a race discrimination claim, though reporting on the specific factual basis for the racial claim has been limited. Pardo’s attorney, Lindsay Goldbrum of Goddard Law, has said the case “highlights issues around inclusion in ‘elite industries,'” and Pardo has said his goal is to hold companies accountable on diversity and inclusion.²

One element of the exclusion allegations concerns campus recruiting. Pardo claims Point72’s recruitment at the University of Michigan is sourced “exclusively” from a single student investment society that screens candidates for “cultural fit.” Reporting has noted, however, that Pardo himself got his internship without being a member of that society.³

The $20 Million Demand and Point72’s Response

The complaint demands $20 million. Goldbrum has described that figure as a “procedural placeholder,” saying the plaintiff has not yet specified a precise damages amount as the case proceeds. Pardo says the sum reflects the damage to his career and health from the firm’s alleged failure to accommodate his condition.¹³

Point72’s statement, in full: “This complaint, for which the plaintiff is demanding $20 million in damages in connection with his summer internship, is ridiculous and without merit. We intend to address these matters in the appropriate forum.”² As of the most recent reporting, the firm had not filed a motion to dismiss or a formal answer, and the case remains in active litigation.

Why New York’s Accommodation Rules Matter to This Case

The lawsuit invokes the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law, both of which reach further than the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. State law defines disability to include impairments from anatomical, physiological, genetic, or neurological conditions that prevent normal bodily function or are demonstrable by accepted diagnostic techniques.⁴ The city’s law is broader still, covering any physical, medical, mental, or psychological impairment.⁵

Both statutes require employers to engage in a good-faith process with employees who ask for accommodations. The city law calls this a “cooperative dialogue” and requires the employer to provide a written determination of what accommodation it can offer. Failure to engage in that dialogue, or retaliating against someone for requesting an accommodation, is itself a violation.⁵ In Jacobsen v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (2014), the New York Court of Appeals held that an employer’s failure to engage in good-faith dialogue about a requested accommodation generally prevents the employer from winning summary judgment, emphasizing that the interactive process is meant to forestall needless litigation.⁶

An employer can decline an accommodation only if it would cause “undue hardship,” meaning significant difficulty or expense, judged against factors including the employer’s size, budget, and the cost and nature of the accommodation.⁴ For a firm the size of Point72, a desk reassignment would be difficult to characterize as an undue hardship, which is part of what makes the allegations pointed.

Point72’s Prior Discrimination Case

Pardo’s lawsuit is not the first discrimination case Point72 has faced. In February 2018, Lauren Bonner, an internal recruiter, filed a gender discrimination lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan. Bonner alleged she was paid up to two-thirds less than male counterparts and described the firm as a “testosterone-fueled ‘boys’ club.'” She alleged that then-president Douglas Haynes wrote a vulgar word on a whiteboard in a meeting room and that an unnamed executive declared certain meetings off-limits to women.⁷

That case moved from federal court to private arbitration in September 2018 and settled before the arbitrator ruled, on terms Point72 did not disclose. The firm said “there were no adverse findings against Steve [Cohen] or P72,” and the arbitrator cleared Haynes of the specific whiteboard allegation.⁸

1
Business Insider. Former Point72 Intern Sues Over Disability Discrimination
2
Yahoo News. Ex-Intern Sues Point72
3
eFinancialCareers. Point72 Intern Sues for $20 Million
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New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 9 CRR-NY 466.11 – Disability Discrimination
5
Lawyers Alliance for New York. Expanded Accommodation Obligations Legal Alert
6
FindLaw. Jacobsen v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corp.
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Wall Street Journal. Steven A. Cohen’s Investment Firm Sued for Discrimination by Female Staffer
8
Stamford Advocate. Cohen’s Point72 Settles Gender Discrimination Suit