JPMorgan Chase & Co. wrongfully fired a financial adviser in retaliation for publicly complaining that managers pressured him to sell the bank’s own investment products, a federal investigator found.
JPMorgan said it will appeal the finding awarding Johnny Burris $64,400 in back wages and $100,000 for reputational damage, pain and suffering. The finding by an investigator for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration was released Tuesday.
OSHA, which is part of the Labor Department, determined that JPMorgan’s decision to terminate Burris resulted in part from employee behavior protected under the anti-retaliation provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. An appeal would be considered by an administrative law judge.
“Mr. Burris previously raised these same claims to a FINRA panel, with the same basic evidence, and the claims were denied,” JPMorgan spokeswoman Patricia Wexler said in an e-mailed statement. “We look forward to presenting our case in the next step of this process and putting this to rest.”
Under the OSHA finding, JPMorgan would have to clear an industry complaint it wrongfully listed against him and expunge his industry employment record, known as a U5. It would also have to pay him reasonable attorneys fees.
Limited Damages
Burris expressed dissatisfaction with the decision. “They ruled in my favor but tried to limit the damages to the bank," he said.
The arbitration decision by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority was based on a complaint faulted by the OSHA investigator, Burris said.
OSHA’s San Francisco office, which handled the case, didn’t respond to a request seeking comment on the finding.
Burris began working as a Chase Private Client adviser in Sun City West, Arizona, in June 2010. Shortly afterward, he started voicing complaints internally about being pressured by managers to sell more of the bank’s products to his elderly clientele, even if there were better investment options for them. Burris also provided information about his concerns to the New York Times, which featured him in a July 2012 article.