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Wells Fargo, its CEO, and two other executives at the firm are facing a class action lawsuit after allegedly interviewing diverse candidates for high-paying jobs that were already filled.
The lawsuit claims the bank was misleading investors over efforts to increase diversity among its high-ranking staff.
The initiative adopted by the bank in 2020 said half of candidates interviewed for jobs with a salary of over $100,000 needed to be considered ‘diverse’— including factors such as gender, sexual orientation, and disability.
And a federal court in California rejected the bank’s motion to dismiss the case, saying that Wells Fargo went along with the initiative despite knowing it was window dressing.
Allegedly, Wells Fargo put out in roughly a dozen communications its efforts to make its workforce more diverse, with hopes to fill its positions, particularly those paying $100,000 or more, with diverse candidates.
However, hiring staff brought in candidates who were not even qualified enough for roles, or for positions that were already filled, in a performative act mainly for show, the plaintiffs allege.
'Sham interviews'
The court said: “Wells Fargo conducted widespread ‘sham interviews’ of diverse candidates in which Wells Fargo interviewed diverse candidates that would not be hired,” and that the firm “sought out diverse candidates to interview for positions that had already been filled, or for which the candidate was not qualified and could not receive an offer.”
The plaintiffs allege that the firm’s CEO, Charles Scharf, was aware of the fake interviews through receiving emails and communications of internal complaints about the practice that were ignored.
However, Wells Fargo has denied the allegations made by its investors, saying in a statement that it is “deeply dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion and does not tolerate discrimination in any part of our business.
“The claims in this lawsuit have no merit, and we will continue to defend ourselves against them.”
Many other companies also have diversity quotas in their hiring processes; however, this practice has often been criticized by onlookers who say it can become a worthless quota that doesn’t create meaningful change or diversity at all.
