September 27, 2016

Warren Commends Labor Department's Decision to Review Potential Labor Violations by Wells Fargo

DOL Announcement Follows Senators' Request for Investigation Citing Series of Employee Complaints

Text of DOL response to senators’ request available here (PDF)

Senators’ initial request for an investigation available here (PDF)

Washington, DC – United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today commended the Department of Labor’s (DOL) announcement that it will conduct a “top-to-bottom review of cases, complaints, or violations concerning Wells Fargo over the last several years” related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other labor laws. DOL’s decision comes in response to a request for an investigation from Senators Warren, Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).

“I’m glad DOL is initiating a prompt and thorough agency-wide review of all cases, complaints, and violations implicating Wells Fargo over the past several years to determine whether the agency should bring additional claims against the bank,” Senator Warren said.  “Every other federal agency with jurisdiction in this matter should follow DOL’s lead and promptly determine whether Wells Fargo and its senior executives should be prosecuted or otherwise sanctioned.”

The senators’ initial request noted that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recent investigation into Wells Fargo “uncovered a workplace characterized by stringent sales quotas and aggressive incentives imposed on its employees, and staggering neglect by management of the obvious consequences to consumers of those quotas and incentives,” and cited a series of employee complaints over a period of several years. DOL’s response letter explains that it has established a working group that includes the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and the Office of the Solicitor to review the serious allegations.

Read a PDF copy of DOL’s response to the senators here.

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