The Department of Labor has ordered Wells Fargo to reinstate a branch manager who was fired after raising concerns about the opening of bank accounts without clients' knowledge or consent.
On Friday, DOL also said it must pay the Califormia woman, Claudia Ponce de Leon, $577,500 in back wages and other compensation. She was fired in September 2011. The bank has since admitted that its employees opened up to 2 million accounts without first obtaining customers' permission.
That same day, a former Wells Fargo advisor and his attorney received private information about an estimated 50,000 clients and an undisclosed number of its registered representatives.
To resolve the fake-accounts scandal, Wells Fargo paid $185 million to federal and local authorities. It also agreed to pay $142 million to settle a class-action settlement.
In April, Wells Fargo was ordered to reinstate a wealth manager in Los Angeles and pay him $5.4 million in back wages; his name was not disclosed.
