The system for determining pay and promotions at Novartis AG's (NVS, NOVN.VX) U.S. unit is "broken beyond repair" and allows a pattern and practice of discrimination against its female employees to persist, a lawyer for a group of women suing the company said Tuesday.

In his closing argument Tuesday, David Sanford, a lawyer for the women, said Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.'s system for evaluating employees is extremely subjective and driven by a forced curve that limits the overall number of top ratings that can be given to employees as part of their annual evaluation.

Women receive fewer top ratings than do men at the Swiss drug maker's U.S. unit, Sanford said. Women who take leave, particularly time off for pregnancies, have had an even more difficult time of receiving top ratings, he said.

"An employee's total compensation comes down to the whims and moods of that employee's manager," Sanford said. "It's the Wild West, folks. Anything goes."

A jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan is hearing allegations that the company fostered a culture that denied its female sales force the same opportunities for better pay and promotions as its male employees. The case is expected to go to the jury later Tuesday.

The class-action lawsuit was filed in 2004 by a group of current and former female sales representatives. The case was brought on behalf of a class of about 5,600 current and former female Novartis employees in the U.S.

On Monday, Richard H. Schnadig, a lawyer for Novartis, said the Swiss drug maker has acted in "good faith" and has policies in place that are designed to handle complaints of discrimination and mistreatment. He said the allegations against the U.S. unit have "no merit."

-By Chad Bray, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-227-2017; chad.bray@dowjones.com