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Wachovia Securities faces gender bias class action

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WASHINGTON—Three class action employment law firms have filed a gender discrimination suit against Wachovia Securities on behalf of a class of current and former female financial advisers.

The suit, filed Tuesday in federal district court in Washington, alleges that since at least March 2003, Wachovia Securities has “systematically” denied equal employment opportunities to its female financial advisers with respect to compensation and promotions, in violation of federal and various state civil rights laws.

The suit seeks class action status on behalf of all women who were employed by Wachovia Securities as financial advisers at any time between March 17, 2003, and the present.

Wachovia Securities became known as Wells Fargo Advisors in May as a result of Wells Fargo & Co.’s December 2008 acquisition of Wachovia Corp. Although the suit names Wells Fargo Advisors and Wells Fargo & Co. as defendants, the proposed class does not include legacy Wells Fargo financial advisers, court papers say.

The suit was filed by law firms Mehri & Skalet P.L.L.C., Sprenger & Lang P.L.L.C. and Moody & Warner P.C., which collectively have settled similar class action cases on behalf of female employees at Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., Smith Barney and American Express Co.

A spokeswoman for Wells Fargo Advisors said in an e-mail that the company “vigorously disputes” the allegations in the lawsuit.

“The methods, policies and practices used by Wells Fargo Advisors (formerly Wachovia Securities) in the conduct of its business and the management of its personnel are in no way discriminatory, including the policies and procedures governing the assignment of accounts to our financial advisers and/or the establishment of financial adviser teams.

“Wells Fargo Advisors does not tolerate discrimination in any form. This firm has been and remains committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace and has been an industry leader in its support of professional development opportunities for women financial advisers and managers,” she said.