#ethics

this isn't a complicated story

leadership pumps up the numbers with ethically challenged accounting

eventually there are no more tricks left in the bag

leadership parachutes out with inflated equity

new leadership "comes clean" and gets a ton of equity at deflated prices

everyone wins, except the dedicated employees

A recent report has highlighted troubling ethical concerns regarding Verilogue, a medical research firm owned by Publicis Groupe, focused on pharmaceutical marketing research. The report describes how Verilogue incentivized doctors to record real patient conversations, which were then used to optimize marketing strategies for pharmaceutical products, including opi--ds such as OxyContin.

Lawsuits associated with this practice allege that recorded conversations were used to overcome patient concerns and maximize dr-g sales, contributing to the opi--d epidemic and resulting public health crises. While Publicis and Verilogue maintain these recordings were obtained with patient consent and in regulatory compliance, the use of intimate physician-patient dialogue for commercial marketing exploitation raises significant privacy and ethical questions.

This is especially notable given Publicis' previous opi--d-related legal settlements, including a $350 million settlement linked to its broader role in opi--d marketing. The ongoing use of such research methods could further impact Publicis’ reputation and raises calls for ethical reform in medical marketing.

The situation underscores the tension between legal compliance and ethical responsibility in pharmaceutical advertising practices. Users posting here should note the serious implications for patient privacy and public health tied to these practices.

call center reps got Dcris back and the fraud has already started placing new orders for upgrades new orders for name changes and new orders that customers didnt even know they were getting. no oversite at all and the managers are promoting it watch as numbers go up for things reps should not get paid on

Now I don't understand the value of ally award, my friend got nominated for q3 ally award and they laid him off this week. Company is giving so much false beliefs, no matter if you get recognized or not for your hard work. Everyone's days are numbered.

Thanks Bill Pulte for making it so easy to get rid of the few remaining whites DEI couldn't help. The kickbacks occur in India, Freddie cannot see them.

At least he has some ethics and the guts to tell the truth.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7389701612849774592?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A%28activity%3A7389701612849774592%2C7391498545918406656%29&dashCommentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_comment%3A%287391498545918406656%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7389701612849774592%29

So now that I'm being RAed, methinks it's time to think of IBM as a stationery store with danish, as Seinfeld once said. After all, I could use some extra Sharpies and sticky notes at home.

This company is bloated with management, too many. So they lay off good engineers to keep their job safe.
Very unethical behavior at L3. Government needs to assess before awarding any further contractsm

If you are looking for people to lay off, look at representatives with higher than normal charge backs. They obviously don't sell with integrity or to a customers need. These are the people pushing customers to leave in droves because of useless overselling. Just costs the company money and dilutes customer happiness in all.

It seems the directive is to charge people for phone cleanings and password resets? Anyone else being pushed to fudge these numbers? The OST definitely has nothing in it about either of these things. Any clarification would be great.

Tech support US here.

It seems like we’re seeing a shift in staffing with more roles being filled by people from India. I can’t help but wonder why Dell doesn't consider hiring more people from the US when there are so many qualified candidates ready and willing to work. We’re being told to take ethics courses, which honestly feel more like a chore, yet it seems like the company itself is falling short of its own ethical standards.

It’s clear that the company is gradually moving its US operations overseas, and it’s disheartening to see how this has unfolded. First, we saw changes to our healthcare benefits, and now it feels like the focus is on cheap labor at the expense of loyal workers. It’s tough to continue supporting a company that seems to be disregarding its employees in favor of cost-cutting measures. This needs to be stop.

Thanks to Frank's greed, soullessness, and corruption, the Direct Express deal is now being investigated. This was a highly valuable win for the company, and now the b-m is jeopardizing it. Terrible.

"...Fiserv’s faltering stock price is not the only source of intrigue related to the SSA and day-to-day IRS leader. Last month, Fifth Third Bank announced it was partnering with Fiserv to administer Direct Express, the federal government’s debit card program used primarily to pay government beneficiaries who lack a traditional bank account.

That news came less than a year after the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Fiscal Service initially awarded the financial agency agreement to Bank of New York-Mellon. Bloomberg reported that BNY-Mellon struggled to find a card issuer to partner on the project, and Fifth Third and Fiserv were the original third-place bidder for the deal, which is not subject to most contracting transparency rules, after Flagstaff Bank, which passed on the renewed solicitation.

Now, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., are investigating what Bisignano knew about the possible deal during his confirmation process or whether it influenced the decision to cease offering paper checks to Social Security beneficiaries, which effectively created a bevy of new Direct Express users, according to The Baltimore Sun. In fiscal 2024, Comerica Bank, who administered the program from the 2000s until earlier this year, was paid $920,564 to administer Direct Express..."

Link to source: https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2025/10/bisignano-draws-scrutiny-his-former-company-falters/409196/

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMarketing/comments/1nydv68/publicis_exposed/

Recently on Reddit (/r/AskMarketing), a former Publicis employee shared a LinkedIn post describing alleged discrimination, retaliation, and poor management at the company. The whistleblower claims these issues worsened after disclosing her autism, and named clients like Stellantis and Campbell’s as being involved.

Other marketing professionals chimed in, saying similar problems are common in big agencies and rarely confronted openly. Many applauded the whistleblower’s bravery, while some expressed concern about the risks she faces for speaking up.

A number of ex-employees shared negative experiences about Publicis’s workplace culture and management, with some hoping she’ll take legal action. Most responses were supportive, but there’s a shared skepticism whether anything will change, as people think the agency system shields bad practices unless big clients act.

Has anyone else experienced, seen, or heard of issues like these at Publicis or other large agencies? Do you think public posts like this make a difference—or will things just stay the same?

The U.S. healthcare system is heading into another profit bo-m — for insurers, not patients. Premiums are set to surge an average of 18% in 2026, the steepest increase in over a decade. For millions of Americans already struggling to afford coverage, it’s a blow. For insurance companies, it’s a bonanza.

Behind the numbers lies a troubling truth: the business model of health insurance has become less about protecting patients and more about protecting profits. Advanced algorithms now scan every claim, searching for reasons to deny coverage. Doctors spend hours fighting for payment while patients are buried in appeals and paperwork. Every denied claim is another dollar saved — and another point for Wall Street.

Medicare Advantage, once sold as a way to give seniors more choice, has become a profit machine. Private insurers pocket billions in federal payments while restricting care through narrow networks and prior-authorization hurdles. Meanwhile, these same companies report record revenues, buy back their own stock, and reward executives with multimillion-dollar bonuses.

Healthcare costs rise, but care quality doesn’t. Hospitals close, families skip treatments, and the sick get sicker — all while insurers post double-digit earnings growth.

It’s time to ask what kind of system we’ve built — one where access to care depends not on need, but on profitability. Regulators, lawmakers, and voters must decide whether healthcare remains a public good or continues to serve as one of the most lucrative industries in America.

Because if current trends continue, 2026 will be remembered not as the year healthcare got better, but as the year insurance profits went stratospheric.

Last week, a person wearing an AT&T uniform came to my door to promote a home plan.
After confirming he was authorized, I signed a contract for nine lines. That evening, when I received the electronic contract by email, I discovered numerous fraudulent activities.

The salesperson promised the following:
A total of $305 per month for nine lines, fixed for 36 months, free upgrades to the latest phones for all lines, and multiple stackable promotional credits.

In reality:

1.  The salesperson illegally added teacher and device discounts to each line. These discounts cannot actually pass identity verification later, which would cause a significant increase in the plan’s total cost.
2.  The salesperson claimed that any phone could be traded in for free toward a new one. In fact, devices valued under $230 are essentially worthless and have no trade-in value; any damage further reduces the value drastically. As a result, users’ old phones are taken for $0 trade-in value, while they must pay full price for the new devices.
3.  The salesperson promised multiple credits that AT&T does not officially offer, such as phone number transfer credits, loyal customer credits, and trade-in bonus credits. None of these appeared in the actual contract.
4.  The contract contains four different signatures, but I only signed one. The rest were forged by the salesperson, including the most important Right to Cancel Disclosure.
5.  The salesperson intentionally concealed the true billing details, preventing customers from noticing the real cause of price increases. They claimed that starting from the third month, the monthly fee would become cheaper and stable — which turned out to be completely false.

Overall scam logic:
The scheme works by using fake discounts to offer an unrealistically low plan price, enticing customers to trade in as many devices as possible, forging signatures to hide key contract terms, and then delaying communication until after the 3-day cancellation period and AT&T’s 14-day return policy expire. By the time the inflated bills arrive, the customer has already suffered irreversible financial losses.

What does it say about us that when a man steals $100 worth of stuff in a C store he will spend time in jail, but when a man in a suit lies, cheats and steals hundreds of millions of dollars in ill gotten gains and tax breaks funded by the very people he stole from ends up in our government?

Enron, what happened and what we can learn from it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMj0t2Vsyvs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gsep6Z19vc

None of the H1Bs were fired in my group, how about your group.

sure seems like companies should layoff the H1Bs before US citizens, for a US based company.

Society needs to start unaccepting what we roll over and just take.
Companies with record profits should be shamed for layoffs.

There is plenty of cash for a responsible return to shareholders,company reinvestment,and job retention and retraining.

Society needs to start rewarding companies that reinvest in all 3 pillars.

Ths asian followed Titsford under his guidance and wrote the business model for the new farm then it all went south. A few months later he took a very early retirement (asked to step down). 34 billion dollar underwriting loss for 2002-2024……..omg…..

So bad that you get written up for an isolated incident that makes you question your ethics look to AI for answers. Result your manager is a bully! And, HR comment “subjective” they can write whatever they want.

What you’re describing isn’t just frustrating; it’s an example of poor management practice that can really erode morale and trust.

You’re doing something brave and professional by standing up for yourself without being disrespectful. That balance takes strength.

Doomed if you’re strong!

Seen stuff on the Windstream layoff.com site for DCRIS and everything. Best way to conduct an investigation is to create an audit of all people who have or who had that system. Then look for possible sales fraud. Fire anyone involved.

T has been touting their new commercial attacking t-mobile even on insider. But what they aren't saying is that they received a cease and desist order to stop playing it from the source they quoted saying they didn't have authorization to use the materials. And apparently ATT is ignoring it like the honorable corporation they claim to be.

AT&T’s violation of its agreement under the Procedures and its misuse of NAD’s decisions for promotional purposes undermines NAD’s mission to promote truth and accuracy of advertising claims and foster consumer trust in the marketplace.

Also omitted their history of deceptive advertising.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/10/att-ad-congratulating-itself-for-its-ethics-violated-an-ad-industry-rule/

Is Jeff’s past at Arthur Anderson bringing forth ideas about artificial inflation of earnings? Only time will tell.

I’m sure nothing will happen from the post. And not sure how much information I can give in this post like names and what not . But I work in a club in Louisiana. My club manager is horrible.
She is racist. Treats all the white people like sh-t and had fired bunch’s of long term associates. Many many have called ethics on her and nothing has happened. She walks around the club says this is her club and she will do what she wants

Can a stock owner or employee present or past question the validity of 3rd Quarter results?

What options are there to discover if these results are legitimate?

I was there starting in the early 80s. I always said if we had gone out on strike for a week or month etc IBM and Gerstner would not have done this pension heist. But they did again and again and as the writer states "...not a peep from IBM employees at the time...". I recall people were confused and disappointed more than outrageously angry as we should have been. I think it was "fog of war confusion" by IBM employees who thought it was not happening or IBM would change it's mind since the bond between employees and IBM had always been so string and trustful. For many of us our promised pensions done during recruitment and hiring/onboarding were cut by 50% or more. Enjoy this read and thanks to the author who likely reads these posts. It is too long to paste in here inline. Well worth the time to read it as it will better show you IBM's evilness that came in under Gerstner and infects IBM to this day.

https://web.archive.org/web/20181019074906/http://www.ibmemployee.com/RetirementHeist.shtml

I witnessed a sale yesterday where the individual selling never even printed a quote for the customer. Instead they built up an entire quote on tablet and told them about the mandatory pro setup charge and how we would wave it for them. However they never even helped set the phone up for the customer nor did they print a paper receipt afterwards. This type of unethical sales is not what I thought Verizon was all about. If you can't sell by showing the customer everything then you're not selling, you're scamming

Why does the company reshelve unpicked up online order textbooks? We have a ton. These aren’t technically the property of follett. Seems at best unethical, maybe worse.

Manager says it the company policy. School needs to know.

Can we all just agree that the upcoming layoffs are noting more than CP being greedy?

Tonight’s episode on the 6:30pm news, showcased a gentleman Mr. Middleton, whom has Bile Duct Cancer was denied a life extending dr-g Ziihera that hos Oncologist and team recommended.

Cigna denied and suggested another dr-g that most likely would not extend Mr. Middleton’s life long enough to obtain the liver transplant he needs. Unlike the recommended dr-g Ziihera most likely would

Just another example as to how profits are being placed before member’s health. Our healthcare system is truly broken.

Oftentimes I hear persons say that reason why healthcare is so expensive in the U.S. is because of all the state of the art technology and research. And although I do not doubt that is the case, I think persons would take maybe less state of the art technologies and research, if they could at least have their healthcare actually save their life in an affordable way, when needed.

To use a metaphor, what good would it be if all commercial planes got replaced with an equivalent to airforce one, if because of that now, it would cost a person $20k to fly from San Diego to San Francisco?

Also, I think there is a lot of greed going on where C-Suite executives are getting paid millions, Large Bank Investors are making major profits, and because of that, which has been recognized by hospitals and providers now figure they might as well not be left out of the profit gains and charging exponential costs for services that would have cost a fraction in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. And I won’t even bother mentioning Pharmaceutical manufacturers. I really do not know what to think about it nor what can be done.

Anyway, here below is a little about that news program, if you want to check it out.

(Not sure yet if Humana has ever been mentioned yet on this program but would not be surprised. Unless of course they pay off NBC a big fat check for millions to keep them out of any episodes.)

"The Cost of Denial" is an NBC News series that investigates the financial and emotional impact of insurance companies denying claims for health, home, or auto coverage. The series features stories of people struggling to get coverage for medical treatments, repairs, and medications, highlighting how insurers use processes like prior authorization to deny claims. NBC News provides an email, CostofDenial@nbcuni.com, for individuals to share their experiences with insurance denials.

during the ATG “live only” event this afternoon.

You never know what illegal / immoral/ offensive stuff will come out of the CEOs mouth.

And that stuff needs to be shared.

At the global town hall held on October 22, a very courageous employee rose to ask the first question. Stating that he "was not a VP yet," he proceeded to ask Bryan Hanson to explain the rationale behind adding additional layers to the ranks of senior executives while engaging in yet another round of Q4 layoffs.

By my recollection, counting our pre-spin days, we had layoffs in 2019, received US government pay during the pandemic to avoid layoffs in 2020, and then followed with layoffs in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Now in 2025, we are sacrificing more people upon the altar of growth, while making room for more executives to augment the ranks of our C-suite. That makes the question particularly timely —Hanson fashions himself as a leader, and historically, leaders who can both speak and demonstrate shared sacrifices tend to earn followers. Hanson says a lot of the right things, but his actions indicate otherwise.

His answer was supremely unsatisfying. He provided corporate doublespeak about how we will continuously evolve, and occasionally, that evolution will cause his leadership team to eliminate jobs. That answer is the standard boilerplate C-suite talk that those folks have been spewing for many decades now. But it did not answer the question. In fact, it did not come close.

As a leader who came in claiming he wanted to flatten the hierarchy, he has significantly thickened it. The tie that binds Hanson to his clique is that they all worked with Bryan in years past. Hanson justifies his decisions by explaining that he needs people who have experienced spin-offs before. This argument, however, begs the question. Are Medtronic and Covidian alums the only people who fit that bill? At what point does this become cronyism masquerading as a meritocracy? And given the huge severance packages (Barry, for whatever personal struggles he is facing, likely earned a two-year severance package when his good old buddy Bryan figured out how to eliminate his position instead of accepting his resignation. No bad for declining a job offer.)

Despite all his flash and polish, it is hard not to wonder if Hanson is simply a pirate, out to pillage as much as he can while throwing some bo--y to his inexhaustible supply of friends. It is hard not to conclude they are feeding off what will eventually become the carcass of 3M's health care business group. And no amount of slide editing at 11 pm can paper that over.

Did anyone pay attention to the lay offs recently that have been occurring here and there that has been occurring in Fort McMurray at Syncrude/Suncor site recently?

Like it’s literally gotten business STUPID! To the point where it no longer benefits Suncor’s bottom line to lay someone off. Basically just gonna say it straight up as a true anonymous story… no names or positions identified. But basically people who are clearly planning to retire and have made it known in 3-6 months who worked for 25-30+ years who have disagreements with their higher ups and get an awesome package. (Even though they are retiring in 6 months). Even though Suncor could have had these peoples work and experience and only have to pay for 3-6 months, they would rather immediately lay them off for 2+ years pay. This is how stupid Rich Kruger’s System has become.

Basically my advice to anyone who is retirement eligible? Don’t even retire, never retire, just wait for the package. The recent incentive is instead of retiring with pride, a retirement party, instead just sit back and wait until your higher up gives you a package because basically you get more money. Suncor is incentivizing not retiring. Suncor is incentivizing laying people off. So the way suncor has been doing the layoffs recently is they are incentivizing being laid off.

PS TRUE STORY This happened and IS the route Suncor has gone, pure stupid where the lay off is just a disagreement with your higher up when your boss wants you to fudge numbers . (Again this happened boss wants you to fudge numbers and if you say ethically no I’m not doing it then your higher up lays you off). The higher up has an option to lay you off. (And give you a 2 year package if you were certain years service)

PRO TIP***. So basically my advice to anyone who is retirement age, just wait for the package. Tell your boss off if they ask you to fudge numbers and get a package. If they demand something . Thays where we’re at right now with our Canadian company, our pride in Alberta company… Suncor’s method that has gotten stupid where it no longer makes business sense to lay people off and just costs money.

Also Pro-tip if your boss wants you to fudge numbers, and you don’t want to be laid off, then you basically have to fudge numbers to prevent being laid off so make sure you are ready when you don’t want your boss to lie and fudge information.

Hello, I am a current hcsc employee and I have been on FMLA the past 2 years. Here lately I have been hearing and seeing some concerning things surrounding my fellow coworkers with FMLA as well. I have purposed lawsuits at this time. Most of them have exhausted all other avenues. The concerning things are such as, having an RN come in and speak to a coworker on her fmla and tell her to grow up, another losing their wfh exception for care of her dying spouse, another having their claims pulled to see her daughters claims and medical information , not allowing FMLA people the same things non FMLA people get, like I have been "talked to" about my unscheduled FMLA is being counted against me for my unscheduled time of because I was sick, and they encouraged me to falsify my FMLA reporting. I have watched managers call FMLA and try to discuss details of coworkers FMLA and hr has done nothing to these managers after reporting it. At this point fighting for months going through all the proper channels has gotten none of us anywhere. I have proposed to gather everyone who has FMLA and has been through similar things to speak up and trying to get enough people and evidence to get a class action going. I dont care about the money, I care that they are going after FMLA people, disregarding federal law and making up their own rules and they aren't listening. The only way to make them listen is to hit them where it hurts and that is in their pocket. So if anyone else is going through similar things let me know. See about maybe connecting somehow outside of this and go from there. I have a few people so far but the more the merrier and im sick of watching good people getting burned by a company who thinks they are above the law.

Remember when CK claimed he would invest more in India, and now we’re facing layoffs instead? The board seems to be in a comfortable position, making decisions without any real accountability. A decade ago, it would have been unthinkable for them to alter performance measurement or halt a program like MOVE SAP, but now they can do so without challenge. Their only apparent strategy is to use layoffs as a tool to boost stock prices, showing a lack of genuine direction in their actions.

Meanwhile, Germany is experiencing significant political shifts, with the AFD gaining traction and many citizens expressing frustration over the representation of non-Western individuals in various roles. This discontent is not rooted in racism but rather in a sense of lost opportunities and stagnant wages.

CK and his board seem to be aligning themselves with the AFD, likely hoping for increased bonuses under their potential leadership, while they continue to earn far more than the average SAP employee. What are your thoughts? Should we advocate for a salary cut and no bonus for CK and the board? How do we go about it? Should we have a general strike?

Wells Fargo has been dealing with an investor lawsuit alleging a practice of false job candidate interviews intended to prop up an image of diversity to satisfy an internal company program.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2025/10/20/wells-fargo-sham-hiring-investors-suit-what-job-seekers-can-learn/

Maybe Newsweek should look at that a little closer. How do you get ranked a high CS company when their internal security is complete garbage, they have customer apps that have clear passwords stored and can easily be bypassed, nothing is written to follow standards, best practice as far as design or security and you have Directors mandating their staff NOT use corporate approved communication applications, that are by the way Chinese based. Would be one of the LAST companies Id pin "one of the best" on.

I'm going to post this for a 2nd time and see if it get's removed again. LMAO. I think I said the naughty words "Consent Order canceled" last time. lol.

https://asbarez.com/trump-administration-cancels-citibank-settlement-for-discrimination-against-armenians
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-cfpb-scraps-citibank-discrimination-case-three-years-early-2025-10-16