Two former employees of Wells Fargo [corporate website] filed a class action lawsuit [complaint, PDF] on Thursday on behalf of employees whom they claim were penalized over the last 10 years for following the rules and not meeting sales quotas. The lawsuit seeks $2.6 billion in damages or possibly more for allegations that include wrongful termination, unlawful business practices and failure to pay wages. According to the lawsuit, Wells Fargo was aware [Reuters report] that their strict sales quotas were leading bankers to fraudulently open accounts for customers. The plaintiffs allege that the biggest victims of this were employees who did not engage in these practices.

Over the past several years, Wells Fargo has been the subject of various administrative and judicial action. Earlier this month, the Consumer Protection agency fined [JURIST report] Wells Fargo $100 million for various violations, including the opening of fraudulent accounts. Customers also filed a class action lawsuit alleging invasion of privacy, fraud, negligence and breach of contract. In 2014 a US District Court approved a $62.5 million settlement [JURIST report] between the bank and large institutional clients who lost money in a securities lending program. In 2013 a federal judge imposed a $203 million penalty [JURIST report] against the bank in a class-action suit alleging the bank misled customers and charged excessive overdraft fees.