Banking giant Goldman Sachs has been hit with a lawsuit over claims from a former senior employee that he was discriminated against on the basis of his sexual orientation and allegedly subjected to homophobic retaliation.

William Littleton, described in court papers as a vice-president and one of the bank’s most senior LGBTQ leaders, claims he was excluded from a client call because “he sounded too gay”.

In another incident, the eight-year employee was allegedly asked: “What’s wrong with you? Do you act this way because you’re gay?”

The complaint, filed in New York state court, claims that “despite years of ‘outstanding’ performance reviews filled with near-endless praise regarding Mr Littleton’s bright future at the Bank, he was abruptly fired by those who he complained engaged in discriminatory conduct”...

According to Littleton’s attorney, David Gottlieb, his client’s termination from Goldman is not an isolated incident or exception to the rule at the bank or on Wall Street more broadly.

“Wall Street continues to struggle to create an environment that is inclusive and accepting of LGBTQ+ employees,” Gottlieb said in a statement...

In a statement to the Guardian, a Goldman spokesman, Patrick Scanlan, said the company “has a sustained and proven commitment to diversity, and we are proud of the vibrant and diverse LGBTQ community at the firm”.

“We strongly encourage all of our employees to bring their authentic selves to work, because it makes us a better firm. This suit is without merit and we plan to defend ourselves against these baseless claims.”...