Did you hear the one about the Bank who had to pay big bucks to the employee who blew the whistle on suspected illegal behavior?
Wells Fargo has been ordered to rehire and pay a former employee $5.4 million dollars in back pay, legal fees, and compensatory damages after firing the employee for reporting violations under the Whistleblower Protection Act. The manager was dismissed by Wells after reporting certain bank activities that were believed to be illegal and improper.
OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, ordered the payment after determining that the dismissal was somewhat the result of the whistleblowing. Wells Fargo says it disagrees and will request a full hearing on the issue.
Wow, $5.4 million. That’s a whole lotta back pay and “compensatory damages.” Not to mention what the employee would have received as a “commission” (a percentage of the fine assessed to Wells Fargo) as a result of the initial investigation. Pretty good incentive for an employee to come forward and report any suspected wrongdoing by a bank or mortgage lender.
This is more incentive for the banks and lenders to have the policies and procedures in place to ensure that lending activities are being done properly in accordance with the law and FHA regulations. If not, any employee can blow the whistle and report suspected improprieties to FHA or the DOJ. That may result in a big pay day for the whistleblower.
Institutions need to have a well-documented, well-publicized policy that all employees know. This policy must instruct, and allow employees to report; any suspected violations to senior management, all the way up to the top executive or the Board.
When reported, action must be taken to determine if the accusations are accurate and, if so, corrective actions must be taken immediately.
It’s bad enough to get caught doing something wrong. Don’t compound the problem by trying to hide or ignore it, or worse yet, firing the employee who brought it to your attention. Honesty is still the best policy.
In sports, a whistle is used to stop play. Don’t let a whistle stop your business.