Wells Fargo Must Offer 66 Jobs to People It Rejected in 2014

(Bloomberg) — Wells Fargo (NYSE:) & Co. must offer 66 jobs to female and African-American applicants it rejected five years ago after the U.S. Department of Labor found the bank discriminated against them.

The company in 2014 discriminated against more than 2,300 candidates to be online customer service representatives and phone bankers in three U.S. cities, the Labor Department said in a statement Thursday. Wells Fargo must pay about $600,000 in back wages, benefits and interest to individuals, and offer jobs to original applicants as they open up.

The agency’s statement didn’t detail the hiring issues, and the bank didn’t admit liability. Wells Fargo agreed to revise its selection process and train hiring managers to eliminate the discriminatory practices.

“While Wells Fargo strongly disputes the allegations, we believe that putting this matter behind us is in the best interest of all of our stakeholders,” Wells Fargo spokesman Peter Gilchrist said in a statement. He said the settlement relates to practices in place five years ago that the firm has since changed. “Wells Fargo values and promotes diversity and inclusion in every aspect of our business.’’

Wells Fargo last month selected a new chief executive officer as part of its efforts to move past years of scandals that have eroded its brand and heaped on legal costs. Charlie Scharf starts in the top job on Monday.

(Updates with company statement in fourth paragraph.)

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