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Wells Fargo, Ending Its Appeal, Settles Whistleblower's $577K Retaliation Case

By C. Ryan Barber
March 01, 2018

Wells Fargo & Co. has reached a settlement with a former branch manager who claimed she was fired for blowing the whistle on employees who had been opening accounts without permission, the sales-pressure conduct at issue in a scandal that erupted in 2016. See, “Inside Wells Fargo's Quest Against a Whistleblower Awarded $577K,” Corporate Counsel.

The settlement, finalized on Jan. 17, brought an end to Wells Fargo's appeal of a U.S. Department of Labor order compelling the bank to reinstate the fired branch manager, Claudia Ponce de Leon, and pay her $577,500 in back wages, damages and legal fees. That decision came almost a year after Wells Fargo reached a $185 million settlement with federal regulators and the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office resolving allegations over the widespread misconduct at the bank.

An in-house judge at the Labor Department has ordered Wells Fargo and Ponce de Leon to submit a copy of the settlement agreement by Feb. 9. Ponce de Leon's lawyer, Yosef Peretz, declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement. “All I can [say] at this point is the parties have decided to resolve the dispute,” Peretz said.

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