Discrimination in Hiring Process

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Pioneergirl61

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Discrimination in the Hiring Practice:
Dear law.com,
I believe that I am being discriminated against by Wells Fargo Bank of Nevada. I am no stranger to banking and my resume is proof of that. I have been seeking a position in banking since moving to Nevada late last year, and because that is my main field of experience. Since late November 2013 I have been a registered job seeker at wellsfargo.com/careers and actively applying for part-time positions. To date, I have now applied for twenty one positions, and have been on interviews for additional part-time positions for which I did not specifically apply.
For the most part, the only jobs for which I have applied were 20 hours/week, though there were a handful of those that were 30 hours/week. Since February 2014, I restricted my applications to only those postings that were for 20 hour/week positions.
The disappointment, which has now erupted into full on suspicion, lies within the fact that I have been declined for EVERY SINGLE JOB - those I directly applied for and those to which I was referred by H.R.
There is also an issue with the disturbing nature of some of their questions, as well as the fact that after my first in-person interview at a branch, where I included in my disclosure to the interviewers in response to their pressing question of why I was not applying for full-time work, my disability of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia, every interviewer in the months afterwards directly addressed in an aggressive nature my disability and, more specifically, my insistence upon only applying for part-time positions. I stated quite clearly in every interview that I was fully aware the positions were posted within my availability and that I was comfortable in filling the position with ease, and also if there were a few more hours per week needed, I could comply with that as well. I also emphasized to each of these interviewers that in no way was there an issue with my ability to intellectually and physically do the job.
I included in my responses regarding my limited job availability to those positions that are posted as 20 hours per week the following reasons: that I am not able to stand on my feet for 40 hours per week; I had hoped to one day again return to college and finish my degree (having dropped out in early 2013 due to my arthritis, whereby attending at U.C. Davis in Ca. was too PHYSICAL of a challenge for me, tho I was on the honor roll when I left.); and, that I didn't want to take a position posted at more than 20 hours/week because in the event I was unable to fulfill that commitment it would be an inconvenience to the entire team. in each instance,the interviewer emphasized how supportive Wells Fargo Bank is of their employees attending college, though also in each instance the interviewer pressed me quite hard - pressured, really - about my limited weekly hours = not appropriate since I was not asking for anything that was not within range and reasonability of the job for which I was being interviewed.
The interviewers pressed quite hard on me for only applying for part-time work and I have no idea why because I have only been interviewed for 20 hour/week jobs, those for which I directly applied online and those for which I must have been referred by the H.R. coordinator, "Tess." I finally called Tess and spoke with her on Feb. 28, 2014, asking her why I did not get chosen for one particular job for which I believed I was a perfect fit. She contacted the branch manager and he told her that it was a decision between me and another candidate, but that he chose the other person because she could work as many hours as they needed her, and I was limited to 20 - 25 hours per week; this was a POSTED 20 hour/week position! He also emphasized that I was an outstanding candidate and he enjoyed the TWO interviews we had together, having not a single negative to add to my file. Bullcrap! At tje conclusion of my phone call with her, Tess made a promise to me: Tess clearly stated that in the event the Keystone Branch (see experience below) had another opening for 20 hours/week she would just five me the job. She said to be sure to look for the opening and apply immediately, and that she would also tru to remember to call me when and if the job was posted. Over three months later the job did get re-posted. I did apply. I did NOT get the job, and in fact the interview was pure hell. This is just too ridiculous. Very unprofessional, bordering now on illegal.
The last interview I had just "took the cake," as it were.
***On June 3rd I was in the Keystone branch as a customer (a branch that had prev hired me but I had to decline it because they had internally changed the job FROM the posted 20 hours to a 30 hour position) and in response to the (young and apparently new) teller's sales pitch I replied that I'd much rather have a checking account as an employee. There helping this teller was his supervisor - Ruthie - and she asked me if I was interested in applying for a job at that branch, as she emphatically described their difficulty in finding a body to fill their 20 hour/week position. She said she was frustrated that nobody has been "sent to them," to which I replied that my automatic job search had not turned up a new opening at her branch and I had in fact applied to her same branch back in January, got hired, then had to decline, then just three weeks prior to June 3rd had re-applied in response to a new 20 hour/week posting, but since then the posting was withdrawn, and my application was marked online as withdrawn. I then enthusiastically explained that her job opening would be a perfect fit for me. I also mentioned that I already had been interviewed by Emily and Shalise, who had hired me but I then declined as it turned into a 30 hour week commitment. Ruthie then took my contact info and promised to call with an interview time. We had just had a very friendly and symbiotic encounter, to which I believed would be a positive outcome. In the meantime, I went home and did find that just that morning the job search did turn up her position posting. I was interviewed by Shalise and Ruthie, with the manager coming in about halfway thru. I have to say, that this interview was anything but friendly. Shalise had to have spoken ill of me to Ruthie because gone was her open smile, friendly and enthusiastic manner. Instead, she looked cowed and avoided eye contact with me while Shalise launched into a pointed interview focused on my disabilities and my part-time status, yet again! Really?!? Shalise was the one who hired me back in January! Why had she changed her tune so drastically? Why has this derailed into a demonstration of how much they dislike anyone who can't work full-time? It was a very chilly and pointless - for me, anyway - interview. During this time, my family was waiting in the car - two of my adult daughters were in town visiting my husband and I and we were out shopping, from which I cut out time for this sham interview - and when I returned to them I sat and cried for half an hour. I had felt so DIMINISHED and DISMISSD. Not ok.
On each part-time job posting, those for which I was interviewed and those for which I was declined without an interview, the requirements of the position are: High School graduation and one year of experience. My resume more than covers these most minimum of job requirements, including broad-spectrum banking sales experience dating back to 1983, four college A.A. degrees (all with honors), and working knowledge of Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. How many local applicants can compete with this?
On my online job search and application activities, dating from late November 2013 to present, I have applied for twenty jobs, two of those just last night, and I have been declined for sixteen, two more where my application was withdrawn due to a changes in the requirements, and then add three more declines for interviews for "off the book" positions - those where I was called and interviewed by the branch though I had no current, active application on file with them, for a total of NINETEEN declines.
Therefore, I am convinced that Wells Fargo has discriminated against me because of my disabilities and probably because of my age as well. And now I'm pissed off! How many times do you enter a branch and see a face behind the teller line that appears to be over 30? Over 40? One attached to a disabled person, or a disabled person over 40? The numbers in answer to each of those questions get smaller with each of those question marks, don't they.
I have had enough of this humiliation and want answers. This has been a humiliating and disturbing experience. Wells Fargo Bank Nevada Reno is ridiculous. I bring so much experience to the table, all for a part-time job, and they can not see past the fact that I would need a stool if I had to work a none hr day. That in no way precludes me from performing every single job task required of the position for which I had applied.
Thank you for your assistance!



Redacted YOUR personal information to protect your online privacy.
 
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Please explain to me where it is written that Wells Fargo is required to hire you.

Many, many companies are turned off by an applicant who insists on sending multiple applications and few companies will be interesting in hiring someone for a job in which they are overqualified.

No law anywhere in the US says an employer is required to hire the candidate with the longest list of qualifications, and frankly you don't know how many other qualified candidates they have.

I think you would have a very, very difficult time proving that the sole reason you have not been hired is your disability.
 
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And not to put too fine a point on it, perhaps your interview style needs a brush-up?

You mention too that you did get an offer but you declined.

I'm sorry, but if it were me I wouldn't hire you and it would have nothing to do with your disability.
 
I don't see anything illegal here - no employer has to hire you. That's the bottom line. There could be any # of reasons why you weren't hired that have nothing to do with your disability.
 
Further as you noted, they wanted to hire you once and you declined. That would red flag any employer, when the employee is dictating terms of employment before they are even hired.
 
Agree - Pro's post (post #3) kind of sums it up.
 
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