Wells Fargo seeks dismissal of class action claiming it falsely promised to interview diverse job candidates

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Wells Fargo class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Wells Fargo has asked a judge to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging it falsely promised to interview diverse job candidates.
• Why: Wells Fargo says the plaintiffs failed to show that the alleged practice was widespread or that company executives knew about the alleged scheme.
• Where: The Wells Fargo interview class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

Wells Fargo & Co. is urging a California federal judge to dismiss an investors’ class action lawsuit, claiming the plaintiffs failed to prove that company leadership knew about allegedly fake interviews of diverse job candidates.

A Wells Fargo investor launched the Wells Fargo class action lawsuit following reporting by The New York Times in May and June 2022 into claims that the company conducted “sham” interviews with diverse candidates for positions that had already been filled.

The sham Wells Fargo interview process was allegedly meant to comply with the bank’s diversity hiring requirements, which state that at least half of interviewees for most jobs earning more than $100,000 per year must meet at least one of several listed “diversity dimensions.”

After The New York Times report broke, Wells Fargo’s stock price allegedly plummeted by about 8.6%, according to Law360.

Plaintiffs failed to prove ‘sham’ Wells Fargo interviews were widespread or that executives knew about alleged scheme, company says

Wells Fargo argues that the plaintiffs failed to prove that the allegedly fake interviews were widespread or that the executives knew about the allegedly fake Wells Fargo interview scheme.

“Allegations of isolated incidents of purported fake interviews do not render general statements about what the guidelines required false or misleading,” Wells Fargo says.

The plaintiffs’ claim that Wells Fargo executives knew about the alleged sham interviews is based on “broad conjecture and speculation,” Wells Fargo asserts.

The plaintiffs allege that Wells Fargo misled investors about its commitment to workplace diversity.

The Wells Fargo class action also alleges the bank repurchased 405 million of its own shares before The New York Times report was released, ultimately overpaying by $4.1 billion. The plaintiffs say this overpayment at the artificially inflated price breached executives’ fiduciary duties to shareholders.

Earlier this year, Wells Fargo was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it failed to pay some of its employees overtime wages in violation of federal law.

Do you think the judge should dismiss the Wells Fargo interview class action lawsuit? Join the discussion in the comments!

The plaintiffs are represented by Jennifer Joost, Naumon Amjed, Darren Check, Ryan Degnan, and Karissa Sauder of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP.

The Wells Fargo interview class action lawsuit is In re: Wells Fargo & Co. Hiring Practices Derivative Litigation, Case No. 3:22-cv-05173, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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