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Shuffling the Deck

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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 9 A look at facts you didn't know you couldn't live without Compiled by the DS News Staff TAKE A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS D ATA B I T S SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE ASSET MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION The economy has added more than 200,000 jobs each month for the last six months, according to Fannie Mae. The expected home price change for the coming year is 2.3 percent, according to Fannie Mae CORDRAY RESPONDS TO ALLEGATIONS OF DISCRIMINATION AT THE CFPB PAGE 38 INSIDE THE JOURNAL // MOVERS & SHAKERS // ON THE WEB // THE APP SPECTRUM Source: Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index Source: Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index FIVE MINUTES WITH JK Huey TOP 10 HAPPIEST STATES 1 North Dakota 70.4 2 South Dakota 70 3 Nebraska 69.7 3 Minnesota 69.7 5 Montana 69.3 6 Vermont 69.1 7 Colorado 68.9 8 Hawaii 68.4 9 Washington 68.3 10 Iowa 68.2 State Well Being Index Ranking TOP 10 SADDEST STATES 1 West Virgina 61.4 2 Kentucky 63 3 Mississippi 63.7 4 Alabama 64.1 5 Ohio 64.2 6 Arkansas 64.3 6 Tennessee 64.3 8 Missouri 64.5 9 Oklahoma 64.7 10 Louisiana 64.9 Ranking State Well Being Index Following allegations of racial and gender discrimination at the Consumer Financial Pro- tection Bureau (CFPB), the bureau's director, Richard Cordray, testified before the House Financial Services Committee. Cordray said the bureau is working to improve the work- ing environment and review processes for its employees. "Because of the speed with which we tried to build this new agency, we have found that we did not get everything right for our own employees," Cordray told House members after describing his own sense of urgency to "get things done" amid "tremendous pressure." e hearing was the third on the matter. In April, the subcommittee heard testimony from two whistleblowers—CFPB senior enforce- ment attorney Angela Martin and former investigator at the bureau's Defense Investiga- tors Group Misty Raucci—who leveled accusa- tions that the CFPB had fostered "a culture of racial and gender discrimination and retaliation against its employees" who complained about discrimination matters. Raucci, in particular, painted an unflattering portrait of the bureau's enforcement of EEO policies, calling the envi- ronment at the CFPB "corrosive." e subcommittee subpoenaed two wit- nesses who in May testified to poor investiga- tions and slack enforcement of bias-related rules. Liza Strong, the director of employee relations at the CFPB, said that the bureau failed to meet even minimal standards during the investigation of Martin's claims, though the bureau tried to accommodate Martin's demands. e bureau gave Martin money and created two positions for her, one of which she declined and one she is now unhappy with. Ben Konop, executive vice president of Chapter 335 of the National Treasury Employ- ees, testified that women and minority em- ployees at the bureau are underpaid compared to white male colleagues in similar positions and said that the CFPB has used "inconsistent reasoning" to deny grievances from female and minority workers. Cordray acknowledged disparities in per- formance ratings in 2012 and 2013 and several employees reportedly are being retroactively paid for being shortchanged by the bureau's evaluation system. About half of all employee grievances filed with the CFPB have concerned employee performance reviews, according to Cordray, and the bureau is now overhauling its review process. "Whether the distinction was headquarters versus field, or one part of the Bureau versus another, or bargaining-unit versus non-bar- gaining-unit employees, or other categories like age and race, we perceived that the review system was creating differential outcomes that indicated the system was unsatisfactory and not working out as intended," Cordray said during the hearing. While Cordray would not discuss any indi- vidual discrimination complaints, he said, "We take each of these allegations very seriously and we will continue to work diligently to resolve any issues through all appropriate channels."

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