Wells Fargo Case Analysis

The fired employees of Wells Fargo are now suing the company for $2.6 billion dollars. For the past 10 years numerous employees had been fired for not meeting sales quotas that were seen as “unrealistic”. These workforce policies led to employees opening over 2 million unauthorized bank accounts. The company has recently settled with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for $185 million in fines and $2.6 million to the charged customers. Executives and higher ups profited off this fraud, the company's stock went up, and many of the workers who refused to take part in the scheme were fired.

The policies forced upon the employees can be viewed both federally and politically. Federally, the company’s employees disobeyed the law by creating unauthorized bank accounts.
Another problem at hand is firing the employees for not reaching their mandated quota (because they followed the law). Politically, Wells Fargo policies could be seen as disregarding the workers rights and other labor laws. It has started a movement for bankers who were affected; they have created a lawsuit, if ruled in their favor, will reprimand them of their lost payment. It also puts emphasis on who should be at fault in the case. Carrie Tolstedt, the head of the operations will be retiring with a $125 million plan and the CEO John Stumpf who “took responsibility” got off with a fine.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is an agency of the federal government.
Their responsible for protecting consumer's rights within the workforce. This claim was brought before the Bureau, resulting in a direct impact of our federal government. The court hearing was in the Senate of Washington D.C. and is a federal case. These court cases are a staple of our history, and demonstrates how the Judicial branch interprets a law. The Bureau fined the company and forced them to pay back any of the affected customers. Now they are going to face another lawsuit by the employees who had been fired, this case has yet to been ruled.

The politics within the media plays a drastic role in bringing the attention to anyone who may be affected by the creation of the 2 million unauthorized accounts. Political agenda may also raise question on how to prevent these actions from ever taking place. They can push policies needed to protect the people banking, and employees who may be fired for not following the unlawful orders. A lot of question has been raised on how the executives received minimal punishment while many others got fired. Political discussion is the citizens voice for a hearing should be
settled.

Workplace Choice could definitely be an interest group involved in this case. They strive for sound public policy and good business practice within the workforce. There is some difference between those influencing the decision and those affected. The people who had unauthorized accounts opened received compensation for any money they had lost. The workers who were fired on the other hand are still pushing for the companies neglection. Lastly the interest groups most likely haven't been affected by the bank’s decisions, but they will still fight for the cause they believe in.