Tag Archives: Discrimination

Witnesses presented new evidence at a recent House Subcommittee hearing that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) discriminated against its employees and retaliated against the whistleblowers. It was the fourth hearing in which the CFPB's employees or former employees have testified of discrimination and retaliation within the Bureau since the investigation of such allegations began in April 2014.

Allegations of workplace discrimination within the CFPB arose in 2013 when documents were leaked by employees to the media. Employees alleged they were givin unfair evaluations based on gender, race, and age, not job performance. Head of the CFPB Rirchard Cordray admitted the employee evaluation system used in 2012 and 2013 was unfair and launched his own internal report last year. Cordray’s report found black and Hispanic workers, those over age 40, those outside Washington, D.C. and those in the union were more likely to get bad performance evaluations under the system, which worsened their pay and career advancement prospects.

Members of the U.S. Supreme Court convened Wednesday to spar with attorneys—and each other—in a case that could narrow long-held interpretations of a federal law barring housing discrimination.

HUD announced a $5 million settlement with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage to resolve allegations that Wells Fargo discriminated against women who were either pregnant or on maternity leave. Among other accusations, the six complaints allege that Wells Fargo made loans unavailable to families based on familial status and forced women to give up their maternity leave and return to work before their loans closed.

U.S. Bank has reached a settlement with a housing regulator over allegations the bank discriminated against a Native American couple in denying them a refinance. Under the settlement's terms, U.S. Bank agreed to pay the couple's U.S. Bank credit card balance, amounting to nearly $11,500. The bank also agreed to approve their refinance application at the same interest rate and terms under which they originally applied in May 2013.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray appeared before the House Financial Services Committee this week to address allegations of discrimination and a culture of retaliation at the agency. While Cordray would not discuss any individual discrimination complaints, he said, "We take each of these allegations very seriously and we will continue to work diligently to resolve any issues through all appropriate channels."

The House Financial Services Committee is set to hear testimony from CFPB Director Richard Cordray on Wednesday about allegations of discrimination at the bureau. Wednesday's hearing will be the third hearing on the matter following earlier allegations from whistleblowers that CFPB fostered "a culture of racial and gender discrimination and retaliation against its employees."

According to a report put out Wednesday by University of Minnesota’s Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity (IMO), Twin Cities lenders have been treating minority mortgage applicants unequally for 10 years—first by originating an inordinate number of subprime loans to minority borrowers before the crash and then by disproportionately limiting credit access to those same communities.