Europeans -- and Americans -- who think sex-discrimination and harassment suits are a purely U.S. phenomenon had better think again. [A suit against Merrill Lynch] is just the latest in a slew of high-profile claims against British employers...Companies on the Continent so far have been largely unaffected. But their reprieve could soon come to an end. A new European Union rule taking effect in October, 2005, for the first time defines sexual harassment as a form of discrimination. [also refers to Marsh (part of Marsh & McLennan), Sinclair Roche & Temperley (part of Stephenson Harwood), IBM, Onyx (part of Veolia Environnement), Siemens]