SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Department of Labor announced April 3 that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered Wells Fargo Bank N.A. to compensate and reinstate a former bank manager who lost his job after reporting suspected fraudulent behavior to superiors and a bank ethics hotline.
According to allegations, the manager was dismissed from his position with the company after reporting separate incidents of suspected bank, mail and wire fraud by two bankers under his supervision.
He worked at a Wells Fargo branch in the Los Angeles area and purportedly had previously received positive job performance appraisals.
After dismissing the manager from his position, Wells Fargo allegedly informed him he had 90 days to find a new position within the company or he would be terminated.
According to OSHA, the manager was unable to find a new position and has not been able to find work in the banking industry since his termination in 2010.
OSHA alleges the manager’s whistleblowing activity was at least partially responsible for his termination. Whistleblowing is protected under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Wells Fargo must provide back pay, and pay compensatory damages and attorney fees -- about $5.4 million in total.