Wells Fargo & Co. shareholders approved Tuesday a proposal requiring an annual board report on the bank’s efforts to prevent workplace harassment and discrimination.
However, shareholders rejected a proposal to amend corporate policies to permit employees to join a union and participate in collective bargaining.
The bank’s annual meeting was held virtually Tuesday. There were seven shareholder proposals on the agenda, with all but the workplace harassment and discrimination being rejected.
Wells Fargo did not immediately disclose the vote counts. It has until Monday to do so in a regulatory filing.
The bank said in a statement that “we respect feedback from our shareholders and will carefully consider their recommendations regarding their proposals”.
Proponents of the workplace harassment and discrimination annual report cited media reports that minorities, including women and people of color, were interviewed for already filled position for the sake of diversity workplace interviewing initiatives.
Wells Fargo agreed to an $8 million settlement in 2020 related to a lawsuit claiming discrimination against thousands of Black job applicants, according to MarketWatch.
The proponents want the bank to provide the following disclosures:
- The total number and aggregate dollar amount of disputes settled by the company related to abuse, harassment or discrimination in the previous three years;
- The total number of pending harassment or discrimination complaints the company is seeking to resolve through internal processes, arbitration or litigation;
- The aggregate dollar amount associated with the enforcement of arbitration clauses;
- The number of enforceable contracts, which include concealment clauses that restrict discussions of harassment or discrimination, and
- The aggregate dollar amount associated with agreements which contain concealment clauses.
The board of directors, in recommending against the proposal, said that “we have policies and programs that are comprehensive and regularly reinforced, including through annual training for U.S. employees, and we believe they reflect our commitment to preventing harassment and discrimination.”
“Since 2020, the company does not require arbitration for sexual harassment claims.
Perhaps the most high profile of the seven proposals was requesting the ability for employees to form a union.
The proposal would have provided employees with the following abilities: union membership be applicable to Wells Fargo’s direct operations and subsidiaries globally; include a commitment to non-interference when employees exercise their right to form or join trade unions; and prohibit any member of management or agent of Wells Fargo from undermining the right to form or join trade unions or pressuring any employee from exercising this right.
The board recommended no to the proposal, saying “we believe that the proposed policy is unnecessary, and not in the best interests of our employees or shareholders”.
The board said bank policies already “respects employees’ rights under applicable local laws related to freedom of association and collective bargaining”.
“When our employees have concerns, we want to hear directly from them to understand their perspectives and determine how we can work together to improve our workplace. Employees are encouraged to raise concerns and feedback through various avenues.”
The remaining proposals that shareholders voted down were:
All votes requires shareholder permission be switched from a simple majority vote to a requirement for a majority of all votes cast for or against a shareholder proposal. Annual board report on the bank’s political spending, particularly as it is connected to ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues. *Annual board report on the bank’s climate change spending efforts. Annual board report on the bank’s climate change lobbying efforts that “describes how it intends to align its financing activities with its 2030 sectoral greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.” Requiring the bank to phase out its support of lending and underwriting projects to companies engaged in new fossil fuel exploration and development.