Joe Bruno, a former executive with Wells Fargo’s wealth management division, has long been concerned about how his department handled certain job interviews.

Employees would interview a “diversity” candidate — the bank’s phrase for a woman or person of color — for numerous unfilled positions, in accordance with the bank’s yearlong informal policy. Mr. Bruno, on the other hand, discovered that the so-called diverse candidate was frequently interviewed for a position that had already been offered to someone else.

He expressed his dissatisfaction to his superiors. His allegations were dismissed. Mr. Bruno, 58, was fired in August of last year. He claimed that Wells Fargo retaliated against him when he told his bosses that the “false interviews” were “inappropriate, morally wrong, and ethically wrong” in an interview.

Mr. Bruno was fired by Wells Fargo for retaliating against a coworker, according to the bank.

Mr. Bruno is one of seven current and former Wells Fargo wealth management workers who claim that their immediate bosses or human resources managers told them to interview “diverse” individuals despite the fact that the job had already been given to another candidate. Five more claimed they were aware of the practice or assisted in its implementation.

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