富国银行因为解雇一名举报财务不当行为的高管被勒令支付2200万美元

The Labor Department ordered Wells Fargo to pay more than $22 million after ruling that the company retaliated against an executive who alleged financial misconduct.

美国劳工部裁定富国银行对一名举报财务不当行为的高管进行报复后，下令富国银行支付2200多万美元。

According to a Thursday release, the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that Wells Fargo violated whistleblower protection laws for "improperly terminating" an unnamed senior manager.

根据周四发布的一份报告，该部门的职业安全和健康管理局发现富国银行“不当解雇”一名未具名的高级经理，违反了举报人保护法。

The Chicago area-based manager, who worked in commercial banking at Wells Fargo, was fired after voicing repeated concerns about what they believed to be violations of financial law – including allegations of wire fraud, price fixing and being instructed to falsify customer information, the Labor Department said.

劳工部表示，这位在富国银行从事商业银行业务的芝加哥地区经理被解雇，原因是他一再表达了对他们认为违反金融法的担忧，包括对电汇舞弊、价格操纵和被指示伪造客户信息的指控。

"Even though the manager believed the conduct was illegal based on company-required training, they were terminated in 2019," the Labor Department wrote – adding that Wells Fargo later claimed the executive was fired "as part of a restructuring process."

“尽管这位经理认为，基于公司要求的培训，他们的行为是非法的，但他们在2019年被解雇，”劳工部写道，并补充说，富国银行后来声称，该高管被解雇是“重组过程的一部分”

Investigators later found that this termination "was not consistent" with that of other managers removed at the time, the Labor Department said. Alleging retaliation and violation of whistleblower protections under federal the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the executive then filed a complaint with OSHA.

劳工部表示，调查人员后来发现，这一解雇与当时被解雇的其他管理人员“不一致”。该高管指控报复和违反联邦《萨班斯-奥克斯利法案》对举报人的保护，随后向OSHA提出了投诉。

In a statement sent to USA TODAY on Friday, Wells Fargo said the company disagrees with OSHA's findings, "which were not based on an evidentiary hearing."

富国银行在周五发给《今日美国》的一份声明中表示，该公司不同意美国职业安全与健康管理局的调查结果，“这不是基于证据听证会。”

"We intend to appeal to an Administrative Law Judge," the company said in an emailed statement. "Wells Fargo has zero tolerance for acts of retaliation, and employees are encouraged to report concerns which will be promptly and thoroughly investigated."

“我们打算向行政法官提出上诉，”该公司在一份电子邮件声明中表示。“富国银行对报复行为是零容忍的，鼓励员工报告问题，并将立即进行彻底调查。”

Both the former executive and Wells Fargo have 30 days to file objections or request an administrative law judge hearing, the Labor Department said.

劳工部表示，这位前高管和富国银行都有30天的时间提出异议或要求行政法法官举行听证会。

According to the Labor Department, the executive had reported the alleged misconduct to other managers and the company's corporate ethics line – a contact for staff to report possible fraudulent activity, violations of Wells Fargo's Code of Ethics and more.

据劳工部称，该高管已向其他管理人员和公司的企业道德热线报告了指控的不当行为，这是员工举报可能的舞弊活动、违反富国银行道德规范等行为的联系方式。

“The evidence demonstrates Wells Fargo took retaliatory action against this senior manager for repeatedly expressing concerns about financial management they believed violated federal laws,” OSHA's assistant secretary of labor Doug Parker said in a statement. “The Department of Labor will not tolerate employers who violate the law and illegally terminate workers that exercise their rights under the law.”

“证据表明，富国银行对这位高级经理采取了报复行动，因为他一再表达了对他们认为违反联邦法律的财务管理的担忧，”OSHA助理劳工部长道格·帕克在一份声明中说。“劳工部不会容忍雇主违法，非法解雇依法行使权利的工人。”

The $22 million that the Labor Department is ordering Wells Fargo to pay its former executive includes back wages, lost bonuses, interest and compensatory damages.

劳工部命令富国银行支付其前高管的2200万美元包括欠薪、奖金损失、利息和赔偿损失。

Thursday's Labor Department order isn't the first time Wells Fargo has been accused of financial misconduct and whistleblower retaliation. In 2020, for example, Wells Fargo agreed to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission $3 billion to settle criminal and civil investigations into the company pressuring employees to create millions of fake accounts to meet unrealistic sales goals.

周四劳工部的命令并不是富国银行第一次被指控财务不当和举报人报复。例如，2020年，富国银行同意向证券交易委员会支付30亿美元，以解决对该公司的刑事和民事调查，调查原因是该公司迫使员工创建数百万个虚假账户，以实现不切实际的销售目标。

The fake account scandal first came to light in 2016. At the time, former Wells Fargo employees told CNN that they were retaliated against after using the corporate ethics line.

假账户丑闻在2016年首次曝光。当时，富国银行的前员工告诉CNN，他们在使用公司道德准则后遭到了报复。

Contributing: The Associated Press

供稿：美联社