'Wells Fargo ends forced arbitration for sexual harassment claims. Will other firms follow?', 21 Feb 2020

Advocates for women in the financial services industry are optimistic Wells Fargo’s recent decision to stop forcing alleged victims of sexual harassment into private arbitration could be a bellwether event…

“We are hoping that other big banks take notice and follow suit,” says Molly Betournay, director of social research and advocacy at asset manager Clean Yield, whose shareholder activism, in part, prompted Wells to make the change…

But early signs aren’t especially encouraging. When canvassed by Financial Planning, eight out of nine financial services firms either failed to respond or declined to comment when asked whether or not they have these policies in place and, if so, if they would follow Wells Fargo’s lead...

The sole exception was Edelman Financial Engines…

The generally tight-lipped responses come as no surprise to Remington Gregg, counsel for civil justice and consumer rights at the activist group Public Citizen, an organization that maintains an online “wall of shame” of companies that force employees or clients into forced arbitration for legal claims, including Wells (which still uses forced arbitration for other types of disputes) and JPMorgan Chase…

Wells’ human resources chief, David Galloreese, said in a statement last week that the bank has “zero tolerance” for sexual harassment, while noting that attitudes have shifted on the subject recently…

“This is the appropriate change to make at this time for our employees,” Galloreese wrote to the bank’s employees. “The treatment of sexual harassment claims has become an increasingly prominent issue across industries.”…