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A former Wells Fargo senior private client financial advisor alleges in a lawsuit that age discrimination, and not a foul language incident, prompted the firm to fire him after 50 years as an employee.
Kenneth J. Schneider of Brookfield, Wisconsin, was 78 when his employment was terminated in May 2023, according to the complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He had started working at Wells Fargo in October 1972 and became a senior private client financial advisor in the wealth and investment management business line, the complaint says.
Schneider alleges that Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, or FiNet, violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 "by treating him less favorably than comparably situated significantly younger employees, and retaliating against him for invoking his legal rights, which led to the termination" of his employment.
Now 81, Schneider contends that he had a "50-year record of excellence without a single reprimand from Wells Fargo," and was fired on the pretext that he "swore in the office" when speaking to his wife, who also worked for the firm. Successive branch managers had tried for years to convince him to retire, the lawsuit contends.
Two managers told Schneider that they begged Wells Fargo not to fire him, according to the complaint.
Earlier in 2023, Schneider had informed a manager that he expected to continue until a two-year project was completed Dec. 31, 2025, the lawsuit states.
Wells Fargo routinely used progressive discipline, including performance improvement plans, to correct advisors' behaviors, and managers at his branch regularly used it for younger employees who violated the company's professionalism policy, Schneider contends. Branch managers willfully refused to follow the same procedures for Schneider, he alleges.
Schneider was registered through Wells Fargo Clearing Services from 1990 to 2023, his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority BrokerCheck profile says. He previously was registered through Loewi & Co. and Blunt Ellis & Loewi, which has been reported as a Wells Fargo Advisors predecessor firm.
Wells Fargo had no comment, and Schneider's attorney didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
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