#policy

For the folks that have been in a PDC previously, are degrees/formal education required after a certain PSG level?

Social media has many stories of patients being denied medications or treatments. Doctors post about having to fight insurances for tests, procedures, or medications.

Most of the people working for these insurances want to do good jobs. We want to get claims processed correctly. We’re just cogs. We don’t make these policies that stress and frustrate members and providers.

There has to be a better way.

Heads are on the line if departments do not meet their "volunteering" hours. Every other day senior leadership in my department is sending emails telling us of opportunities to "volunteer" to meet our quota. On every video conference call it is the lead in and closing point. I wonder who would lose their job if that line of business wouldn't meet the goal? Imagine being laid off because you didn't "volunteer" enough.

Quick question for folks across departments—curious about your current RTO setup.
Our team has known for a while that starting in September, we’ll be required to be in the office for a full 8-hour stretch each day. As it gets closer, though, I’ve been hearing that other departments may still have more flexibility—like being able to finish the day remotely if they’ve spent most of it in the office.

Just trying to get a clearer picture:
Is your team expected to be in the office for a full 8 hours straight, or do you have a hybrid option that helps with traffic and overall balance?

Appreciate any insight—just hoping to understand how consistent this is across the org.

Come on admit it who thought up this idea of everyone having to book their desks? Forcing everyone into 4 days a week now coming up with yet another way to sc--w us all over. Can you believe there is other places to work where you can just go into an office and sit down at will. Madness.

I sympathize with leaders and associates that have been hit with demotions.

As a part of ER, does demotion mean lower title, lower salary grade or reduction in current salary?

How does WF track how many hours you are in office? You don’t need to swipe badge out in some buildings

If management had to spend even a single week working under the same strict rules they’re pushing on us, they’d see how unrealistic and counterproductive they are. It’s easy to make policies from an office far away, but when you’re the one dealing with constant pressure and impossible targets, those rules just don’t hold up. Maybe if the people making these decisions actually experienced them firsthand, they’d think twice before rolling them out.

A bad sign?

From an article in Medium:
“ Changing Severance Packages

Employee forums have been buzzing about AT&T’s plans to revamp severance packages for management employees in Q1 2025. The proposed shift from a standard six-month severance to a role-based tiered system could significantly impact lower-level managers’ benefits.
New tiered system:
Level 1 managers: One month salary
Additional month per management level
Standard benefits include PTO payout and career transition support”

We are well beyond 1q 2025. Maybe he is thinking 1Q 2026?

https://www.newsweek.com/florida-h1b-visa-ron-desantis-2119998

Hearing rumors that leadership may revert back to making it mandatory that people be in the office 3 days a week. Anyone else hear this?

If so, I wish they would make up their minds and stick with it, rather than change the policy every 6-12 months.

Not a good look. Its getting a lot of bad mentions on social media. This is probably why they wanted employees to be social media "advocates". (Cue eye roll.)

You want regulators and Congress after you, DC? This is the way.

Has anyone heard how ELV plans to handle the new CMS regulation on TAT from 14 days to 5 days for acute UM?

• The layoffs primarily affect employees still in their probationary period, making them easier to dismiss, while public safety positions, including wildland firefighters, remain intact.
• The cuts coincide with the end of the “Fork in the Road” program, which offered employees to opportunity to resign while staying on the payroll through September.
• Other federal agencies, including the Department of Energy and Small Business Administration, are planning similar workforce reductions.

https://www.ehn.org/forest-service-layoffs-cut-10-of-agencys-workforce

I know we have job postings for California but I don't think I've seen any actual Americans get said positions.

This mainly applies to tech and lower management roles. If you're a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and an H. -1. B colleague in the same role wasn't laid off, you may be eligible for additional severance or have grounds for legal action due to policy violations.
All you need is your manager's / second line's hierarchical Organization chart screenshot. You can also have some proofs of screenshots from git repositories to prove you have checked in code as same level as the H. -1. b candidate or performed similar activity as H. -1. b candidate if management. Ensure you are not laidoff due to your performance ratings.

This mainly applies to tech and lower management roles. If you're a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and an H-1B colleague in the same role wasn't laid off, you may be eligible for additional severance or have grounds for legal action due to policy violations.
All you need is your manager's / second line's hierarchical Organization chart screenshot. You can also have some proofs of screenshots from git repositories to prove you have checked in code as same level as the H-1b candidate or performed similar activity as H-1b candidate if management. Ensure you are not laidoff due to your performance ratings.

https://www.hrgrapevine.com/us/content/article/2024-07-26-execs-hr-admit-rto-mandates-are-meant-to-make-staff-quit#:~:text=A%20leading%20motive%20behind%20many,before%20their%20in%2Doffice%20counterparts.

www.thelayoff.com/t/1k3ekjvbx

Expedia Group cites "violation of company policy" for sudden ouster of two key tech leaders

Two of Expedia Group’s top engineering leaders have abruptly left the company following what the travel giant described as a "violation of company policy." The Seattle-based company confirmed that Chief Technology Officer Rathi Murthy and Senior Vice President of Core Services Product and Engineering, Sreenivas Rachamadugu, are no longer employed at Expedia Group.

This is from GeekWire, I have the link below:

Expedia Group cites "violation of company policy" for sudden ouster of two key tech leaders

Two of Expedia Group’s top engineering leaders have abruptly left the company following what the travel giant described as a "violation of company policy."

Geekwire: By Taylor Soper - May 18, 2024, 6:51 am

The Seattle-based company confirmed that Chief Technology Officer Rathi Murthy and Senior Vice President of Core Services Product and Engineering, Sreenivas Rachamadugu, are no longer employed at Expedia Group.

"This decision is the result of a violation of company policy," a spokesperson said in a statement to GeekWire. "We’re actively searching to fill these roles and remain confident in our technology, strategy, and employees. Due to confidentiality, we will not be making any further comments on the matter."

Murthy responds

Later on May 18, Murthy shared a statement through a spokesperson:
"Throughout my career, I’ve conducted myself with a commitment to the highest level of integrity. I am proud of my work at Expedia and have endeavored at all times to serve the best interests of the company. I look forward to sharing my story at the appropriate time and setting the record straight."

Departures follow major company event

The exits came just days after Expedia’s annual partner conference in Las Vegas, where the company announced several new tech initiatives, including an AI assistant. Murthy spoke at the conference and highlighted the announcements on LinkedIn.

Murthy joined Expedia in 2021 after serving as CTO at Verizon Media. She previously held executive roles at Gap, American Express, eBay, and Yahoo.

Rachamadugu also joined Expedia in 2021 from Verizon Media, where he spent more than 15 years in engineering leadership roles.

GeekWire has reached out to both former executives for further comment.

Leadership transition underway

The leadership shakeup coincides with the arrival of Expedia Group’s new CEO, Ariane Gorin, who officially started the role on Monday. Gorin, a longtime Expedia executive, replaced Peter Kern, a transition first announced in February.

Company outlook

Expedia Group owns a portfolio of brands including Vrbo, Orbitz, Hotwire, Trivago, Hotels.com, and its flagship Expedia.com. The company has unified the tech platform across its brands in recent years and launched a shared loyalty program, One Key, for Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo.

For the first quarter of 2024, Expedia reported $2.9 billion in revenue, up 8 percent year-over-year. Despite the revenue growth, shares fell after the company disclosed delays in a major tech migration.

The company has also been restructuring its workforce. It laid off tech employees in September and suffered a system outage earlier this month.

Link: https://www.geekwire.com/2024/expedia-group-cto-and-svp-ousted-after-unspecified-violation-of-company-policy/

RTO next week. Here we go!

Is the orlando office on 12150 research pkwy going to be a hub?

Serious question — what’s the point of keeping husband-and-wife combos in the same department or even the same company? It always turns messy. Conflicts of interest, favouritism, gossip, and when it goes sour (and it usually does), everyone else has to pick up the fallout.

Plenty of qualified people out there looking for a chance, but instead we’ve got couples playing house on the company dime. Is it really worth the drama?

VBG specifically has been hosting VP/AVP level all hands calls where the leader will say “we expect you to be in full days. Talk to your manager if you need an exception”, yet Sam’s video and the VLC letter say “3 days with flexibility”, no mention of what flexibility’s definition is. Can this be enforced if it’s not in writing?

d-mb question but I see a lot of people talking about NRE / RE/ and when they can and can’t PIP you based on how close you are to retirement. Can someone actually explain all these details to me? I am newer but not young so very interested.

Rogers Communications announced a new return-to-office (RTO) policy that will ultimately require all corporate employees to be in the office five days a week. The policy was issued on July 28, 2025 and will be phased in: starting October 1, 2025, employees must work four days per week in the office, and from February 1, 2026, the requirement rises to five days per week. Rogers, which employs about 24,000 people, said the phased rollout is meant to give workers and families time to adjust.

The update comes just two months after layoffs in May 2025, when the company cut roughly 2 percent of its workforce (around 2,000 jobs). While not officially tied, many recent RTO mandates across industries have been announced near the time of workforce reductions.

Compared to Canadian peers, Rogers’ new policy is among the strictest. RBC, Scotiabank, BMO, and TD Bank will require four days per week in-office later in 2025, while many other employers still follow three-day or hybrid models. Only a few large companies, such as CIBC and Brookfield Corporation, currently enforce five-day office mandates.

Source:

• https://buildremote.co/return-to-office/rogers/

Reddit, facebook, youtube, tiktok, those are all places that someone popping and going “oh it is not that bad” makes sense. But why here?

This is not a commonly known social media site. You have to look to find it. And the vast majority of us here are scared or mad or both. Why would someone who feels like everything is going just fine and we need to just relax take the time to come here and comment on all these posts?

Are they bots? Trolls? Associates whose job it is to manage the narrative and image? What do they hope to accomplish? Make all of us realize that even though we may lose our livelihood and belief in the company we have devoted so much life to, that really it is no big deal? Or divide us up and make us feel even more alone?

Whoever you are, you have every right to your opinion, but your “copy of a copy” phrases will not change anyone here. We are united in the trauma of this layoff. You can’t change that.

Any thoughtful comments?