The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has ordered Wells Fargo to reinstate and pay approximately $577,500 damages to a former branch manager in Pomona who was terminated for complaining about salespersons creating unauthorized accounts to meet unrealistic sales targets. This is the second Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) order in 2017 ruling for a Wells Fargo whistleblower. Approximately three months ago, OSHA ordered Wells Fargo to reinstate another whistleblower and pay approximately $5.4M in damages for violating the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) whistleblower protection law.
Wells Fargo Whistleblower’s Protected Conduct
OSHA found that Wells Fargo fired the whistleblower in September 2011 because she opposed the bank’s private bankers opening customer accounts and enrolling customers in bank products without their knowledge, consent or appropriate disclosures. These disclosures relate to the unlawful sales practices that resulted in a $185 million fine imposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and other bank regulators. The CFPB found that Wells Fargo opened approximately 2 million deposit and credit-card accounts without customers’ approval to satisfy sales goals.
Relief Ordered by OSHA to Compensate SOX Whistleblower
OSHA has ordered Wells Fargo to reinstate the whistleblower and pay $577,500, which represents lost wages and benefits (also known as back pay, compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees). In addition, OSHA ordered Wells Fargo to post a notice informing employees of their whistleblower protections under the SOX and Consumer Financial Protection acts. As SOX authorizes uncapped special damages (damages for reputational harm and emotional distress), the whistleblower could potentially recover damages at trial in excess of the amount that OSHA ordered Wells Fargo to pay. Recently SOX whistleblowers have obtained substantial recoveries at trial, including the following three jury verdicts:
- Jury Awards Former Bio-Rad Counsel $11M in Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Case
- Jury Awards Six Million Dollars to Whistleblower in Sarbanes-Oxley Case
- Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Obtains $2.7M in Front Pay
OSHA Enforcement of Corporate Whistleblower Protection Laws
There has been some speculation that the Trump Administration might curtail enforcement of whistleblower protection laws. But the recent orders in SOX claims brought by Wells Fargo whistleblowers suggest that DOL leadership is committed to vigorously enforcing whistleblower protections laws. In a press release, Barbara Goto, OSHA regional administrator in San Francisco, stated that “[n]o banking industry employee should fear retaliation for raising concerns about fraud and practices that violate consumer financial protections” and that the DOL “willfully and fairly enforce the whistleblower protection laws under its jurisdiction.”
Sarbanes-Oxley Protects Corporate Whistleblowers
The whistleblower protection provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provides robust protection to corporate whistleblowers, and indeed some SOX whistleblowers have achieved substantial recoveries. On the fifteenth anniversary of SOX, leading whistleblower law firm Zuckerman Law released a free guide to the SOX whistleblower protection law: “Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Protection: Robust Protection for Corporate Whistleblowers.” The guide summarizes SOX whistleblower protections and offers concrete tips for corporate whistleblowers based on lessons learned during years of litigating SOX whistleblower cases.
The goal of the guide is to arm corporate whistleblowers with the knowledge to effectively combat whistleblower retaliation, avoid the pitfalls that can weaken a SOX whistleblower case, and formulate an effective strategy to obtain the maximum recovery.
If you have suffered retaliation for whistleblowing, call us at 202-262-8959 to schedule a free preliminary consultation.
SOX Whistleblower Remedies
SOX Whistleblower Protection Attorneys
SOX Whistleblower Retaliation
SEC Whistleblower Rewards and Bounties
The experienced whistleblower lawyers at Zuckerman Law represent whistleblowers worldwide before the SEC under the Dodd-Frank SEC Whistleblower Program. The firm has a licensed Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner on staff to enhance its ability to investigate and disclose complex financial fraud to the SEC, and two of the firm’s attorneys served on the Department of Labor’s Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee and in senior leadership positions at a government agency that protects whistleblowers.
Firm Principal Jason Zuckerman has been named by Washingtonian Magazine as a “Top Whistleblower Lawyer” and the firm has been ranked by U.S. News as a Tier 1 Firm in Labor & Employment Litigation.
Leading whistleblower law firm Zuckerman Law has substantial experience investigating securities fraud schemes and preparing effective submissions to the SEC concerning a wide range of federal securities violations, including:
- Accounting fraud;
- Investment and securities fraud;
- EB-5 investment fraud;
- Manipulation of a security’s price or volume;
- Fraudulent securities offerings and Ponzi schemes;
- Unregistered securities offerings;
- Investment adviser fraud;
- False or misleading statements about a company or investment;
- Inadequate internal controls; and
- Violations of auditor independence rules.
For more information about the SEC Whistleblower Program, download our free ebook SEC Whistleblower Program: Tips from SEC Whistleblower Attorneys to Maximize an SEC Whistleblower Award
