(Reuters) - U.S. law firm Jones Day has asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge to sanction a pair of former associates who sued the firm for sex discrimination and unlawful termination.

Jones Day on Friday said former associates Julia Sheketoff and Mark Savignac, who are married, should be sanctioned for refusing to drop their "demonstrably false" claims that the firm underpaid Sheketoff because she's a woman and that its parental leave policy is biased against fathers like Savignac.

"With discovery now closed, the record proves what defendants have been saying all along: Plaintiffs’ claims have no merit," the firm's motion said.

Jones Day also asked the court to grant it summary judgment, arguing its parental leave policies have "no hint of discriminatory intent" and that there is no evidence backing the bias and retaliation claims in the lawsuit.

Sheketoff and Savignac, who have represented themselves in the lawsuit since filing it in August 2019, declined to comment. A spokesperson for Jones Day did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sheketoff and Savignac are set to file their reply and their own motion for summary judgment on Jan. 20. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss has set a hearing for April 10.

Sheketoff and Savignac have argued that Jones Day's family leave policy violates civil rights law because it offers paid disability leave for birth mothers, but not fathers like Savignac. The firm has defended its paternity leave practices in the case.

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