The EEOC sued Wells Fargo Financial Michigan for age and race discrimination. According to the lawsuit, Wells Fargo promoted younger white women who were less qualified over a black employee, Sylvia Bumphus-Passmore, who had over 25 years of banking experience. The EEOC claims this violated age and race discrimination laws and filed suit after failed pre-litigation settlement attempts. The EEOC is seeking injunctive relief and monetary damages on behalf of Bumphus-Passmore.

1. EEOC Sues Wells Fargo for Race, Age Discrimination http://www1.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/9-15-10c.cfm?renderforpr...
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE
9-15-10
EEOC Sues Wells Fargo for Race, Age Discrimination
Financial Company Hired Younger, Less-Qualified White Women for Positions
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DETROIT – Wells Fargo Financial Michigan, Inc., (NYSE: WFC), a multi-trillion-dollar financial services company,
subjected an employee to discrimination by failing to promote her because of her age and race, the U. S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit (Case No. 2:10CV13517), filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan,
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Wells Fargo Financial Michigan subjected Sylvia Bumphus-Passmore, a black employee at the company’s Sterling
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Heights, Mich., location, to unlawful age and race discrimination by passing her over for promotions to a loan processor
position in favor of young white women. When the discriminatory promotions occurred, Bumphus-Passmore had more than
25 years of experience in the banking industry and significantly more experience than the five young white women selected
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for the positions.
Age and race discrimination violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
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1964. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement. The EEOC seeks injunctive relief
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enjoining the company from engaging in discriminatory employment practices, as well as monetary relief on behalf of
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Bumphus-Passmore.
Race discrimination remains the most frequently filed charge with the EEOC. In fiscal year 2009, the EEOC received
22,778 age discrimination charge filings, the second-highest level ever, accounting for 24 percent of its private sector
caseload. The EEOC’s age discrimination charge data is available on its web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics
/enforcement/adea.cfm.
The EEOC is the government agency responsible for enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws in the workplace. Further
information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.
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