Such Is the Problem When You Attach Your Name To Something . . .

There is a lawsuit against Bloomberg L.P., which is the company the mayor no longer is involved with, except that it may be that he is more involved with the organization than initial reports let on:

The three women whose complaints of discrimination at Bloomberg L.P. spurred a federal lawsuit last week say Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is involved in running the company despite his public statements to the contrary.

The mayor, who remains the firm’s majority owner, has maintained that he has had nothing to do with the company’s day-to-day operations since he was elected in 2001, and a company spokeswoman strongly denied any suggestion that Mr. Bloomberg was involved.

However, a motion filed yesterday by the women, who have accused the company of discriminating against them after they became pregnant, contends that the mayor is in touch with Lex Fenwick, the company’s chief executive, and discussed complaints of mistreatment of female executives with Mr. Fenwick.

The lawsuit, filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, is the latest and most sweeping of a string of discrimination and sexual harassment complaints filed since the 1990s by individuals against Bloomberg L.P., the media and financial services giant.

One of the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit, Janet Loures, says in the motion that she attended a company meeting last month about a Bloomberg service known as People Product during which a senior manager stated: “Mike calls Lex all the time about People Product — he probably shouldn’t, but he does.”

Mr. Bloomberg declined to be interviewed yesterday, and his aides referred questions to the company. Judith Czelusniak, a Bloomberg L.P. spokeswoman, declined to address the specific allegations.