Wells Fargo to pay $2.46m to over 1,000 employees over OT pay
Wells Fargo will pay $2.46m to more than 1,000 employees to settle a lawsuit which alleged that the bank defrauded wages from its workers. The lawsuit claimed the bank breached federal labour laws by deducting from wages and withholding overtime pay, meaning some financial advisers made less than $455 a week. Last year, customers filed a separate class-action suit against the bank for opening millions of fake accounts. Employees who claimed they were fired because they refused to open fake accounts also filed a suit last year seeking $7.2bn from the bank.

Wells Fargo agreed to pay $2.46 million to more than 1,000 employees on Tuesday to settle a lawsuit accusing the company of cheating workers on pay.

The San Francisco-based bank “intentionally” deducted wages and withheld so much overtime pay that financial advisers, from 2009 to 2016, were making less than $455 a week, breaking state and federal labor laws, the suit claimed.

Last year, in a separate class-action suit, customers filed a suit against the bank for opening millions of fake accounts — a scandal that brought down its chief executive.

Employees who say they were fired because they didn’t open fake accounts also filed a suit last year seeking $7.2 billion.

In the wages suit settlement, the bank hadn’t properly informed employees — putting some workers at risk of missing out on receiving their compensation, one employee told The Post. In a statement, the bank denied that allegation.

“Wells Fargo chose to resolve this matter to avoid the cost and disruption of litigation and to resolve challenges related to past practices, and it is confident that it properly compensates its Financial Advisors in New York and elsewhere,” a bank spokeswoman said.