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>Wells Fargo put her onto a permanent blacklist that others in the industry pay attention to - she can't get a job anywhere else. I just listened to this episo

>Wells Fargo put her onto a permanent blacklist that others in the industry pay attention to - she can't get a job anywhere else. I just listened to this episode last night, by chance. She speculates that she is on a blacklist, because she's having trouble finding work. But there's a more charitable (to the other banks) explanaton: she was a very low level employee who, true or not, just got fired for a massive fraud under investigation in the public eye. Maybe they're simply thinking "this might not be the best hire right now" and move to the next resume, of which there are probably many. Because, as much as people in management are responsible, there were also front line employees actively committing fraud here. They are also responsible. In fact more so. Her case is not the norm.

rbolkey 10y ago
It sounded like they verified her speculation: SMITH: Ashley tried to get another job in banking, but she found that she never made it very far past the initial interviews. She suspected that Wells Fargo had put some sort of black mark on her record somewhere. And it turns out that is exactly the case. Wells Fargo wasn't joking around when they said they would make it hard for her to find work again. ARNOLD: No. Wells Fargo wrote her up on what's called a U5 document. It's like a report card for bankers basically. We tracked it down, and we asked Ashley to read what it said. ASHLEY: Failure to perform job duties. SMITH: Any bank - any bank that Ashley applies to will see this line, failed to do job duties. ARNOLD: The form does not mention that those job duties were the sales goals that everyone we spoke to said were unrealistic and that are at the center of a series of ongoing investigations at the state and federal level. SMITH: It just says failed to do job duties. It was the first time Ashley had seen it in print. ASHLEY: It's like having a black cloud that's kind of looming behind you. And I'm always trying to get in front of the cloud, out of the cloud, into the sunshine, but it's always there. http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=497084491 http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?story...
- deleted 10y ago
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- m_mueller 10y ago
  That's what's so great about Planet Money and Radiolab: They do some actual journalism and try to track down sources. There's only very few outlets left who do that and we should support them as much as possible. In the podcast world these are the only ones coming to mind (along with some spinoffs like More Perfect) - maybe someone here has others. I do listen to others sometimes, like Invisibilia or Freakonomics, but in terms of journalistic merit they don't even come close IMO.
Klinky 10y ago
You must not have listened very closely. As noted below in the transcript, they confirmed the U5 form. Also she started in 2007 and it was noted she worked there for 5 years, i.e. fired around 2012 before shit hit the fan. Her story is actually rather common for honest employees working at Wells Fargo, which is why they are going to get sued by many for wrongful termination. Management mismanaged employees and created a culture of fraud. They profited heavily from it. If anything, they are the most responsible for creating the shitty culture. Why let them off the hook? They get larger salaries, while deflecting the responsibilities that come with the decisions they made to pressure employees into fraudulent activity while firing those that reported it? That's quite insane.
- forgetsusername 10y ago
  >they confirmed the U5 form Not a "blacklist", and not unexpected when you're canned from a finance job. As far as WF is concerned, she committed fraud, so they filed a U5. Would you rather they not? It will be investigated; if it's unfounded she can sue. >Her story is actually rather common for honest employees working at Wells Fargo Yes, there are honest employees caught up in this. There are also many dishonest ones. >If anything, they are the most responsible for creating the shitty culture Really? More responsible than the people who commit the act? That is ridiculous. Have some personal accountability. If my employer asked me to do some fraudulent, I would refuse. I certainly wouldn't rip people off, then complain that I was "told to".
  - st3v3r 10y ago
    No, as far as WF is concerned, she REFUSED TO COMMIT FRAUD, and so that's why she was fired. And because she refused to go along, she was blacklisted. "Really? More responsible than the people who commit the act?" Absofuckinglutely. If you are in a position of power over someone, and you tell them to commit fraud or they are fired, then YOU are culpable. "If my employer asked me to do some fraudulent, I would refuse." I'm glad you can afford to do so. "I certainly wouldn't rip people off, then complain that I was "told to"." I'm glad you can afford that moral high horse, too.
st3v3r 10y ago
How are they more so responsible for the fraud if they were fired for not doing it?

rbolkey 10y ago

It sounded like they verified her speculation: SMITH: Ashley tried to get another job in banking, but she found that she never made it very far past the initial interviews. She suspected that Wells Fargo had put some sort of black mark on her record somewhere. And it turns out that is exactly the case. Wells Fargo wasn't joking around when they said they would make it hard for her to find work again. ARNOLD: No. Wells Fargo wrote her up on what's called a U5 document. It's like a report card for bankers basically. We tracked it down, and we asked Ashley to read what it said. ASHLEY: Failure to perform job duties. SMITH: Any bank - any bank that Ashley applies to will see this line, failed to do job duties. ARNOLD: The form does not mention that those job duties were the sales goals that everyone we spoke to said were unrealistic and that are at the center of a series of ongoing investigations at the state and federal level. SMITH: It just says failed to do job duties. It was the first time Ashley had seen it in print. ASHLEY: It's like having a black cloud that's kind of looming behind you. And I'm always trying to get in front of the cloud, out of the cloud, into the sunshine, but it's always there. http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=497084491 http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?story...

deleted 10y ago
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m_mueller 10y ago
That's what's so great about Planet Money and Radiolab: They do some actual journalism and try to track down sources. There's only very few outlets left who do that and we should support them as much as possible. In the podcast world these are the only ones coming to mind (along with some spinoffs like More Perfect) - maybe someone here has others. I do listen to others sometimes, like Invisibilia or Freakonomics, but in terms of journalistic merit they don't even come close IMO.

Klinky 10y ago

You must not have listened very closely. As noted below in the transcript, they confirmed the U5 form. Also she started in 2007 and it was noted she worked there for 5 years, i.e. fired around 2012 before shit hit the fan. Her story is actually rather common for honest employees working at Wells Fargo, which is why they are going to get sued by many for wrongful termination. Management mismanaged employees and created a culture of fraud. They profited heavily from it. If anything, they are the most responsible for creating the shitty culture. Why let them off the hook? They get larger salaries, while deflecting the responsibilities that come with the decisions they made to pressure employees into fraudulent activity while firing those that reported it? That's quite insane.

forgetsusername 10y ago
>they confirmed the U5 form Not a "blacklist", and not unexpected when you're canned from a finance job. As far as WF is concerned, she committed fraud, so they filed a U5. Would you rather they not? It will be investigated; if it's unfounded she can sue. >Her story is actually rather common for honest employees working at Wells Fargo Yes, there are honest employees caught up in this. There are also many dishonest ones. >If anything, they are the most responsible for creating the shitty culture Really? More responsible than the people who commit the act? That is ridiculous. Have some personal accountability. If my employer asked me to do some fraudulent, I would refuse. I certainly wouldn't rip people off, then complain that I was "told to".
- st3v3r 10y ago
  No, as far as WF is concerned, she REFUSED TO COMMIT FRAUD, and so that's why she was fired. And because she refused to go along, she was blacklisted. "Really? More responsible than the people who commit the act?" Absofuckinglutely. If you are in a position of power over someone, and you tell them to commit fraud or they are fired, then YOU are culpable. "If my employer asked me to do some fraudulent, I would refuse." I'm glad you can afford to do so. "I certainly wouldn't rip people off, then complain that I was "told to"." I'm glad you can afford that moral high horse, too.

st3v3r 10y ago

How are they more so responsible for the fraud if they were fired for not doing it?