New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander called on Wells Fargo & Co.’s board of directors to publicly report on the company’s efforts to prevent harassment and discrimination in the workplace following a majority shareholder vote in favor of a proposal filed by the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) and the New York City Pension Funds. DiNapoli serves as the trustee of the Fund and Lander serves as fiduciary to the city’s five public pension funds.

“Wells Fargo employees are one of the company's most valuable assets, however, recent scandals have led to doubts about the company’s workforce management,” DiNapoli said. “Workplace abuse, harassment and discrimination can result in substantial costs to companies and affect shareholder value. Investors have now spoken. It is the time for the board to act."

“Shareholders have sent a loud and clear message to Wells Fargo that harassment and discrimination have no business in the workplace,” Lander said. “The support for our proposal reflects investors’ growing focus on worker rights and their increasing demand for portfolio companies to be transparent on issues that jeopardize long-term value and the wellbeing of their workforce.”

Shareholders of Wells Fargo, one of the largest U.S. banks, approved the proposal at the company’s annual meeting on April 25 with 55% support, excluding abstentions.

The proposal requested an annual public report on the effectiveness of its workforce management and suggested the board consider disclosures such as:

• the total number and aggregate dollar amount of disputes settled by the company related to abuse, harassment or discrimination in the previous three years;
• the total number of pending harassment or discrimination complaints the company is seeking to resolve through internal processes, arbitration or litigation;
• the aggregate dollar amount associated with the enforcement of arbitration clauses;
• the number of enforceable contracts which include concealment clauses that restrict discussions of harassment or discrimination,
• and the aggregate dollar amount associated with agreements which contain concealment clauses.

The proposal noted that Wells Fargo’s hiring practices came under scrutiny when the company was alleged to have conducted interviews of diverse candidates for positions that were already filled and subsequently retaliated against those employees who complained about the sham interviews. News outlets have also reported that the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is investigating possible violations of federal laws by the bank after those allegations surfaced.

New York State Common Retirement Fund

The New York State Common Retirement Fund is one of the largest public pension funds in the United States. The Fund holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement System on behalf of more than one million state and local government employees and retirees and their beneficiaries. It has consistently been ranked as one of the best managed and best funded plans in the nation.