Thread regarding Wells Fargo & Co. layoffs

trust me, there are so many people that have "side gigs" that havent reported them, and they are just fine. do you know how hard it would be for WF to monitor ALL the employees on "non voluntary leave?"

@eg - this is an extreme example, but the employee suspects work number was utilized to discover job data and ultimately leading to termination: https://www.dailydot.com/news/worker-fired-over-the-work-number/?amp

You can actually get another full-time job within the non-working period. You have to call ER to tell them what it is and then they facilitate a review with global pre-clearance to ensure it is not a conflict of interest, So long as it is not, you are fine.

Another way is to get another full-time job, not report it to HR, not post it on LinkedIn, social media, etc. Don’t tell ANYONE who works for WF either. I know with certainty because I work in HR that we DO NOT do ANY sort of monitoring to find out if people have another job. Literally the only way we find out is if someone self-reports themselves OR does something id--tic like telling others about it or posting it on LinkedIn/social media and someone tells HR about it.

@eg -- Is it worth it? Yes, a lender could be in significant legal and regulatory trouble for using an employment verification system to check if its laid-off former employees have been rehired elsewhere, especially if there is no legally sound reason for the check.

The core of the issue lies in a legal concept known as "permissible purpose." Systems that contain sensitive personal and financial data, such as employment and income history, are heavily regulated. For a lender or any other entity to access this information, they must have a specific, legally defined reason to do so.

Here’s a breakdown of the key legal frameworks and potential violations:

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
Employment verification services like The Work Number are considered "Consumer Reporting Agencies" (CRAs) under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The information they provide is a "consumer report." The FCRA strictly limits who can access a consumer report and for what reasons.

A lender would be in violation of the FCRA if it accessed this data without a permissible purpose. Legitimate reasons for a lender to access this information typically include:

In connection with a credit transaction: This applies when a consumer initiates a transaction, such as applying for a new loan or line of credit.

For account review: To periodically review an existing account to ensure the consumer continues to meet the terms of the account.

For collection of an account: If the consumer is delinquent on a loan.

Simply checking on a former employee out of curiosity or for general internal tracking does not meet the FCRA's stringent requirements. The former employee is no longer an employee; they are a consumer. The bank's relationship with them is now governed by consumer protection laws, not employment law.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
Also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act, the GLBA has strict privacy rules that require financial institutions (like banks) to explain their information-sharing practices to their customers and to safeguard sensitive data. Using a former employee's nonpublic personal information (NPI) for a reason not disclosed in the bank's privacy notice and without a legitimate business purpose could be a violation of the GLBA.

The Risks and Penalties
A lender engaging in this practice faces severe consequences:

Legal Liability: The lender could be sued by the former employees whose information was accessed improperly. Under the FCRA, consumers can sue for damages, and in cases of willful non-compliance, they may be entitled to statutory damages (between $100 and $1,000 per violation), punitive damages, and attorney's fees. This could easily lead to a costly class-action lawsuit.

Regulatory Action and Fines: Federal agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforce these laws. They have the authority to levy substantial fines against institutions for non-compliance. A pattern of such violations would almost certainly attract regulatory scrutiny.

Reputational Damage: A bank found to be monitoring the re-employment status of the very people it laid off would face a significant public relations crisis. The perception of "spying" on vulnerable former employees could lead to a loss of public trust, customer departures, and damage to the bank's brand.

In short, once an individual is laid off, their relationship with the bank fundamentally changes. They transition from an employee to a regular consumer. The bank cannot use its former employer status as a pretext to access their sensitive personal and financial information without a new, legally permissible purpose initiated by the consumer.

@ef - is it worth the risk ?

https://totalverify.equifax.com/solutions/verification-of-income-employment#:~:text=With%20more%20than%20618%2C000%2C000%20records,data%20provided%20by%20an%20individual.

I had a job within 2 weeks. Well I could have had it sooner. Was almost going to quit, had been looking, but then the Tuesday morning meeting came. I liked the two paychecks for almost the first year. Hey there is a lot of fear mongering on this board. I assume they are the HR employees. Wells can't go to the IRS and see if you have a new job. I doubt they have a so called "monitoring system". The legal and privacy implications of this are severe. If you get a job don't post it on LinkedIn, let LHH know, or any of your WF buddies know. Simple. Hey this was my first act of NOT being bullied by the WF managers. It felt nice.

@ar Equifax has a service that many payroll systems report the company / employee info. I did a check on my credit and there it was with salary and dates.

Wells Fargo can make a request and see you are working there while still on your notice period. Your own LLC in a corp to Corp contract will avoid this.

@OP you can 1000% start a new job within the non working notice period. Just keep your mouth sh-t.

If you get a new position, you are required to report that information to the Displacement Team.
Depending on the state you live in, do not start a new job until after the 60 days. After the 60 days your severance will kick in, in installments. When you get a new job, and report it, any severance left over will be paid in a lump sum, and taxed according to your state's tax rules. If you don't report it, they can still find out. It'll just take them longer.

Do not, under any circumstances, start another job before your notification period ends. That's a fast track to losing your severance. Tell any potential employer that you've got some family matters to attend to and can't start until after that date. Toss in an extra week just to be sure. Considering it takes a month to get onboarded anyway, and you likely won't find a new position the day you leave WF, it's hardly a big ask.

Start applying and interviewing now but don’t start a new job until after the notice period so you don’t lose your severance. That’s what I did and I started the week after my notice period was done

@a3 just curious, what tracking system is this? How would they really know?

You could try creating an LLC and negotiate a Corp To Corp contract if offered a position before the 60 days or just wait it out.

You're dealing with the lowest sc-m of society who so happen to run a bank. I wouldn't tempt them as they'll stop at nothing to ruin someone's happiness, career or life.

Just give it 60 days and move on from this trashy place. You are LUCKY!

Thanks for the input. It probably will take a while before the ball gets rolling anyway. I'll wait it out, but fingers crossed I'm not still waiting when my severance runs out.

It means if they find out, you forfeit your severance.

@OP Wells Fargo has put a monitoring system in place and they will know if you take another job before the end of your nonworking notice period. Going through multiple rounds of interviews will take that long anyway so you’ve got nothing to worry about. Make sure you take a job after your notice. Period ends and then you can keep the severance and the paycheck from the new job.

Don't risk it.