Thread regarding Wells Fargo & Co. layoffs

If you are only happy with wfh (even if your dr says it) and work offers other accommodations then they still offer it. Please refer to the Federal and State laws and not what you desire or what you think you are most productive at. Accommodation is not guaranteed by law. That said, they should treat you with dignity and timeliness.

Has anyone gotten denied by MetLife with a doctors note? Trying to figure out what my doctor should include in mine.

@bs I’ve been fully WFH with medical accommodation for years so there was no coffee badging for me. I’ve proven that I’m more productive at home because I can control my environment and miss a lot less work.

@hc
Perhaps that is their plan. They've ignored you so long, now you are going away. Voila!! Problem solved.....

They are terrible!
The portal is a joke—it’s not real-time and lags for a couple of days. You upload a file or send a message, and it just vanishes for 48 hours.

LF used to provide a dedicated contact person with a direct phone and email. Now, you’re stuck leaving call back request messages that they seldom return. On top of that, the claim managers don’t even know WF policy; I’ve been told the wrong thing over and over by different people even after I screen captured WF policy and sent to them.

I’m convinced MetLife is cheaper than LF, but at what cost to us? They’ve made the process so difficult that I’ve actually decided to stop filing disability claims altogether—it's just not worth the mental toll.

I have officially opened an HR case to complain about the service levels we are receiving. I encourage everyone to do the same. If we don’t report these issues, WF won’t realize how poor the service actually is.

Same. Met life is extremely difficult to work with. @b1

@bv yeah they can go rummage around Walmart or Costco for hours every weekend, and take God knows how many vacations, but coming in to work is too triggering for them because they got a quack to give them a note. Sure Jan.

@b5 I believe you will have a meeting with your manager after and then that will be it

@am Not sure what would be considered a partial but I do know you can apply for FMLA to at least cover your job. I also know people who have been given extra days per month to WFH due to their disability.

@aq I have an accommodation for migraines but the approval will be dependent on triggers and if they can be managed in the office.

@bv Let me show you what smells can do. Spray some perfume near me and I’ll puke on you within 5-10 minutes if you’re lucky.

@bz If the squirrel can fill out the paperwork and send it to an overwhelmed approver, your chances are 100%.

Super easy, barely an inconvenience

@ae accomodation is anything to modify your work location, hours, etc., to help you perform well at work despite a limitation or disability. It can be temporary or permanent.

@bv How do you define "truly needs"? If a licensed physician recommends it for your health and maximum productivity -- and Wells Fargo agrees -- it's a win-win. Truth is, they've treated people inconsistently and now face legal risk, largely because of inept managers. Any limit they impose on number of employees with accomodations is arbitrary.

I have fibromyalgia, chronic Lyme disease, and a peanut allergy, and require an emotional support squirrel. What are my chances?

@ap yeah I had to end up leaving my job because i couldnt make the drive to the new location. Be in a car for that long at one time. I had a note and everything but some reason I don't see how they have a say in how long they can approve. Or deny it after a certain point. That's not fair. So much for disability and inclusion huh? Most conditions are chronic and permanent. Long as the work is getting done. Location shouldn't matter. What are we evening trying to prove to somebody or other companies anyways this whole rto? Nobody cares or is watching. We all are just trying to get by day to day.

I actually hope they are tougher than the old Wells Fargo way. Everything was basically rubber stamped as long as you found a doctor to go along with your scheme. Some people truly need it.

Not people that can't cope with others due to smells or bright lights, noise, or whatever made up OCD people have these days. I'm sure all those people don't stay home outside of work because of those same "ailments."

Most managers and your coworkers now realize the accommodation crowd are the same holier than thou slack as--s that were coffee badging or otherwise abusing the work from home benefit and its their fault this is basically no longer an option, even if you're one of the few with a legitimate need for an accommodation.

Has anyone been denied so far? Are they more likely to deny partial ADA?

Does anyone know if the new process with MetLike requires more than your manager approval? And if they avoid suggesting full-time remote accommodations in situations where that makes sense?

I was approved last year and recall being told that there were several individuals/groups in my organization who would review it. I spoke to two MetLife representatives who told me the only person they reach out to for approval is your manager.

@ak I'm currently experiencing exactly what you went through. I'm having to constantly follow up with MetLife for things they are responsible for. My doctor sent to MetLife all the required documentation for my claim and when I called to confirm receipt, they indicated they only received the first page of multiple pages my doctor sent. When I asked them if someone reached out to my doctor to ask them to resend the additional pages, they indicated no one had?!?!?!?!? Totally unacceptable.

This is so easily abused if such a for people who actually need it. One of my team members is asking for an accommodation based on period cramping.

@am Many have migraines. Likely not getting approved. My manager told the team that you are given PTO for that. It wasn’t him it was HR and leadership

Many managers will give you lip service act like they understand and oh they have nothing to do with it. THEY DO. Most want to see you in office just like the rest of their team. There are people that got a renewal were advised that this would be a 1 year pass and likely won’t be renewed even with chronic health conditions. Maybe 20 person of Wells Fargo can claim chronic or serious medical condition but they will revert to ALL THE THINGS that you can manage to do when not working. Shopping driving sitting golfing

I got a short term accommodation approved. I spoke with 8 different people because everyone was ‘helping out,’ which tells me they are inundated. They said they had contacted my manager twice and later someone else confirmed they hadn’t. I didn’t use the portal. I filled out a form and faxed my supporting documentation, including a lengthy letter from my doctor. I was pushy without being obnoxious and it still took 2 weeks from submitting to approval. My manager had to agree and he did. But that seemed odd since wasn’t the point of outsourcing this to put separation between employees and employers?

Has anyone been able to get partial accommodation for bad migraines?

I had a partial accommodation submitted through them and approved.
The process was really annoying and it took over a month.
It was annoying because they would say they emailed me documents but I wouldnt receive them and would have to call to get them resent (happened probably 3 times). The I had to have my documents from my doctor sent to metlife twice because they never received them the first time. I had to have them resend the request to wells twice because they said they never got a response. I also had to call them a few times for status updates only to find they needed to push it to the next step and just didnt until I asked.
I probably called 2-3 times a week for the full 5ish weeks it took. And every time I called and entered my details into the automated prompt, it would say I couldnt be found, so then I’d have to go to the general queue and be rerouted. The reps said it’s a known issue on their part.
Obnoxious, but I was eventually successful in getting it approved.

@ae MetLife now handles accommodations because the team at wells that used to handle it pretty much got laid off

But what do you mean by accommodation? MetLife would handle medical LOAs and disability, but they have nothing to do with work accommodations.

Lincoln Financial was bad, but MetLife is beyond awful. Good luck getting them to process your request in a timely manner and getting them to call you back.

Have all the internal staff who used to perform these accommodations been laid off at this point?

I submitted a request at the beginning of January. Still waiting for a response. I called in last week for a status update and was told my request was sent to WF on 1/30 but they couldn't tell me who it was sent to. My manager hasn't heard anything yet.

@OP great question… And I’m truly interested