A former executive who was fired by Wells Fargo has won the right to move forward with a lawsuit against the firm, according to Advisor Hub.
Joe Bruno, a former senior vice president and market manager for Wells Fargo in Jacksonville, Florida, was terminated in August 21 after over 21 years with the company. In a wrongful termination claim, Bruno alleged that the action was taken because he complained about what he said were fake job interviews of women and people of color conducted by the firm to make it appear it was making efforts to increase diversity among the workforce.
Bruno and several other current and former Wells Fargo employees said that supervisors or human resources managers instructed them to or were aware of efforts to interview minority candidates for positions that had already been promised to other candidates.
Bruno claimed that he was fired in retaliation for his whistleblowing over the situation and will now be able to take his case to court after Wells Fargo’s attempt to have the claim addressed in secret arbitration proceedings was rejected.
Following Bruno’s allegations, the U.S. Department launched a criminal investigation into whether Wells Fargo had violated civil rights laws with its hiring practices. When the bank’s stock price declined, shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit that resulted in an $85 million settlement last month.
Wells Fargo maintained its innocence but said it settled the lawsuit to avoid the financial toll and burden of ongoing legal proceedings. The bank states that Bruno’s allegations have no merit, that it does not tolerate discrimination, and that Bruno was fired over his combative behavior with another employee that was deemed as “workplace conduct inconsistent with company standards.”
“Mr. Bruno’s allegations are baseless,” Dana Ripley, a Wells Fargo spokesman, said in an emailed statement. “Any claims he makes must be considered in the context that he was fired after an investigation confirmed he retaliated against another employee who had complained internally about him, and that he then launched a campaign of sending highly offensive and threatening messages to other employees.”
Wells Fargo “will vigorously defend ourselves against this lawsuit’s claims,” Ripley said. Wells Fargo disputed Bruno’s right to file the suit, stating that in order to collect a bonus payment more quickly in 2016, he signed an agreement stating that any disputes he had with Wells Fargo would have to be resolved in closed-door arbitration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Bruno and his lawyer, Linda Friedman, contended that the agreement expired in 2019 and applied only to disputes involving the bonus payment itself.
“Under the Federal Arbitration Act, the dispute has to arise out of the underlying contract,” Friedman was quoted as saying. “It’s like if you went and bought a television set, it had an arbitration agreement, and then you happened to be working for the company, it’s just unrelated thing.”
A FINRA arbitration panel sided with Bruno, saying “there is no valid and enforceable agreement to arbitrate.”
“While we disagree with the FINRA decision and view it as inconsistent with FINRA practice, it is important to note that the FINRA arbitration panel did not make any decisions on the substance of Mr. Bruno’s claims related to his termination,” Wells Fargo’s Ripley said.
Bruno states that “the allegations of my termination are 100% false, and I’ve been arguing that from the beginning,” adding that he wants to hold Wells Fargo accountable for engaging in “performative” diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Bruno said he would be open to rejecting any settlement offer and going to a jury trial.
Hyman Cotter PC routinely represents financial advisors and other registered representatives who were wrongfully terminated by their firm. Our attorneys take a thoughtful approach to clients’ cases by first trying to work with the terminating firm concerning the Form U5 disclosure. When necessary, our attorneys are prepared to file wrongful termination and defamation claims. We are prepared to assist when the circumstances surrounding your termination are wrongful. Contact Hyman Cotter PC at 312-291-4600 or through our online contact form for a free consultation.
