Wells Fargo held phony DEI job interviews, lawsuit claims. The case will now move forward
A California federal court judge has rejected Wells Fargo’s efforts to toss out a case claiming that the bank faked its DEI hiring efforts, and set a trial date for January 2026.
The San Francisco-based bank was seeking to have the judge dismiss a class-action lawsuit claiming the bank misled investors about efforts to increase its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for higher paying jobs. The bank has denied the claims.
For all U.S. jobs openings paying at least $100,000 a year or more, Wells Fargo mandated that at least half of the candidates come from a diverse background. This includes underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, women, veterans, LGBTQ individuals and people with disabilities.
SEB Investment Management AB filed the complaint on behalf of plaintiffs in 2022. From February 2021 to June 2022, the plaintiffs claimed in the suit that diverse candidate interviews were shams and held despite the fact that another candidate was already selected for the job.
“These ‘fake’ interviews were rampant and allowed Wells Fargo to claim that it complied with the Diverse Search Requirement,” the plaintiffs’ claimed.
In 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission scrutinized the bank’s hiring practices, The Charlotte Observer reported. The Justice Department also investigated along with other government agencies, following a New York Times report about the matter.
But the Justice Department and SEC closed their investigations regarding the company’s hiring practices without taking action, Wells Fargo said.
In late July, Judge Trina Thompson denied Well Fargo’s motion to dismiss the case filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The court cited arguments from plaintiffs’ attorneys referring to repeated DEI advertisements, alleged false statement to the public and other claims made by the plaintiffs, such as sham interviews to satisfy diverse hiring search requirements.
Wells Fargo said it is dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion, and does not tolerate discrimination in any part of its business, the bank said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer.
“The claims in this lawsuit have no merit, and we will continue to defend ourselves against them,” the bank stated.
Wells Fargo has until Aug. 23 to respond to the allegations in court. A final pretrial conference is set for Nov. 13, 2025.
In its most recent diversity, equity and inclusion report, the bank said that 46% of its 238,000-person workforce is racially and ethnically diverse, The Charlotte Observer reported in April. Wells Fargo said it is “committed to advancing diversity” even in the current political climate.
“As a company, our approach has not changed,” Wells Fargo previously said in a statement. “We are committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion both inside our company and in the communities where we live and work.”
The largest employment hub for the financial giant is in Charlotte, with about 27,000 employees.
Other Wells Fargo lawsuits
The bank has faced a series of legal issues in recent years.
In July, a fired Wells Fargo supervisor won a disability discrimination lawsuit against it and was awarded $22.1 million by a federal court jury in Charlotte. Christopher Billesdon said he was let go because he wanted to work from home because of his paralyzed colon and bladder. The bank required Billesdon and employees return to the office after the COVID pandemic.
In 2023, Wells Fargo was also sued by former CEO Tim Sloan, who claims the bank owes him more than $30 million in compensation. He retired in 2019 following a major scandal over fake customer accounts set up by employees to reach sales goals.
Sloan said he was used as the scapegoat for the scandal that became widely known in 2016.
This story was originally published August 13, 2024 at 6:01 AM with the headline "Wells Fargo held phony DEI job interviews, lawsuit claims. The case will now move forward."
