Southern District of New York pushes workplace investigations

Damian Williams became the first African-American U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2021. Under his leadership, the Southern District is pursuing civil rights cases against Wells Fargo and Meta, which use existing civil rights laws in novel ways.

Wells Fargo’s hiring scandal

In a May 19, 2022, New York Times article, Wells Fargo was accused of padding its diversity metrics by conducting faux interviews of female and minority candidates. The article profiled Joe Bruno, a former executive with the bank, who alleged Wells Fargo required him to interview women and minorities for already-filled positions to satisfy its diversity hiring policy.

In June 2020, Wells Fargo CEO Charles W. Scharf mandated that half of the individuals interviewed for open positions paying over $100,000 be diverse. Bruno and other bank employees claimed that sham interviews were routinely conducted to satisfy the policy. While the bank has publicly denied the allegations, Scharf announced in June the bank was temporarily suspending the interview requirement so it could evaluate its implementation.