Multiple people allege that they were fired by financial giant Wells Fargo after they spoke up against the company regarding concerns that they had that the firm was engaging in fraudulent activities. These former employees claim that not only did Wells Fargo know about their concerns regarding consumer and corporate fraud, but they say that the government is aware of the problems too.
Since 2010, dozens of Wells Fargo employees have filed complaints against the company through the federal government’s whistleblower protection program. The complaints allege that the former employees experienced retaliation in response to their attempts to address their concerns over consumer and corporate fraud. This situation certainly reveals concerns about the business practices at Wells Fargo, but it also exposes possible flaws and weaknesses in the federal whistleblower protection program.
As far as the allegations against Wells Fargo are concerned, the business practices that were troubling to the now former employees involved the fraudulent opening of credit cards and bank accounts on behalf of customers who had not authorized those accounts to be opened. The bank has been fined one hundred and eighty-five million dollars because it engaged in consumer fraud.
Unfortunately, the issue of retaliation by the bank against the many employees who attempted to address their concerns regarding the fraud with company management has not been well tended to. Some of the employees who filed whistleblower complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) experienced delays in the agency’s response to their claims, and some complaints were never even investigated by the administration.
Apparently, the Wells Fargo cases are not the only cases that have gone without investigation, complaints from other whistleblowers against other firms have received little to no attention from OSHA as well. The result is that whistleblowers do not get the protection and justice that they deserve and matters regarding consumer fraud, public safety, and health concerns, and corporate wrongdoing are slow to be exposed. The agency cites a backlog of whistleblower complaints as the reason that it has been so slow to investigate the matters.
It is not surprising that employees within OSHA tried to address their concerns regarding the whistleblower cases that were sitting around and not being investigated. Some of these agency employees-turned-whistleblowers were fired after they expressed their concerns, and some of them a=have even filed retaliation complaints against OSHA.
Barrett Law PLLC: Helping Mississippi Whistleblowers Fight Injustice
The Wells Fargo whistleblower cases have done more than expose large-scale corporate and consumer fraud. They have revealed weakness within one of the agencies that had been given the important work of protecting whistleblowers from retaliation. The aforementioned problems with OSHA make it clear that now, more than ever, whistleblowers need strong allies as they pursue claims against the companies that have retaliated against them. The whistleblower claims process is complicated and sometimes, periods of inaction can leave whistleblower wondering whether their cases will ever be resolved. When you work with a whistleblower attorney, you receive the benefit of having someone on your side who knows when to push forwards towards resolution of your case so that it does not sit around indefinitely. If you suffered harm after taking action as a whistleblower, the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC might be able to help you. Call our office today at 1 (601) 790-1505 to set up a free, initial consultation.
