NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey woman has sued Wells Fargo Bank, saying she was fired for refusing to participate in a scheme to manipulate accounts and sell products that weren't in customers' best interest.
Melinda Bini filed a lawsuit in state court in New Jersey on April 5 against the bank and three supervisors from the branch she worked at in Highland Park, NJ.com reported.
In the lawsuit, Bini accused her superiors of running or knowing about the scheme and said she was retaliated against and later fired for refusing to participate. Bini, a former assistant vice president and regional private banker, is seeking her job back and damages.
Wells Fargo paid $185 million in fines to federal and local authorities after it acknowledged its employees opened as many as 2 million checking and credit card accounts without customers' authorization.
Kevin Friedlander, a spokesman for the bank, said the company doesn't tolerate retaliation against employees who express their concerns.
"Our non-retaliation policy makes clear that no team member may be retaliated against for providing information about suspected unethical or illegal activities or possible violations of any Wells Fargo policies," Friedlander said.
Friedlander said the supervisors are still employed, but he wasn't able to comment further on the allegations because it was an ongoing legal matter.
Bank of America settles racial discrimination case from 1993
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Bank of America settled a decades-old case that accused its predecessor company of systematically discriminating against black applicants for entry-level jobs in Charlotte, the U.S. Labor Department said Monday.
The largest U.S. consumer bank settled the 1993 case against its Charlotte-based predecessor NationsBank by agreeing 1,027 people who applied for clerical, teller and administrative positions a generation ago would share $1 million in back wages and interest, the department said.
Bank of America's penalty roughly corresponds to what a Labor Department review board last year determined it should pay, according to court documents. The bank challenged the decision in federal court before reaching the settlement.
A district court judge delayed that case until Bank of America fully complies with the settlement.
"Although much time and effort has gone into this case by all parties, the department is pleased that the matter has been resolved," Thomas Dowd, the agency's acting director for federal contract compliance programs, said in a statement.