I got let go for admitting I returned computer items from over 3 years prior. Repurchased but eBay goes back only 3 years and PayPal 2 years. Don't think it would of mattered even if I could get them. If you are called into investigation by internal director, I highly recommend you say nothing and tell them you want to discuss with your legal council. you may be let go any way but at least you can force their hand. They may have got records from the stores without your consent which is better to show if it goes to court.
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It looks like they are going after the computer reimbursement first... anyone know of someone who got fired for the fitness reimbursement?
Or we could look in to a class action lawsuit and sue Fidelity, that way both parties can move on.
At this point Fidelity should offer to remove the check box in exchange for a signed no harm letter so no one sues. That way both parties can move on.
It seems that if “over 200 people” aren’t following a policy then maybe the policy is the issue.
If you’re called in just shut up and walk yourself out.
I don't think you can take any legal action over getting fired, at least not in most states. A company can fire you for whatever reason. That being said, it MIGHT still be worth speaking to a lawyer considering the gravity of this.
If anything, I would have to assume that it is not legal for fidelity to have acquired your return receipts... that might contain the legality key.
I also wouldn't be afraid to make this as public as possible. Your u-5 is getting updated regardless (probably wont show for a month). WSJ wrote a homer piece, but there are other news agencies wanting to write a less biased piece on this.
This has been ongoing for well over a year. Absolutely no reason to think it will stop until they have checked every single reimbursement which includes computer, fitness, and tuition.
Have people looked into taking legal action or a way to band together? There are some clear cases of fraudulent behavior, ie. sharing receipts, but it sounds like the majority of people are seriously getting mistreated for returns, which the form doesn't say anything about, or lost receipts. It's such a shame that Fidelity is ruining families and lives because of a sh--tily written policy.
Has anyone consulted with a lawyer? What should we do if called in over a mistake? Stonewall asking for a lawyer or try to explain?
Are they still continuing with this?
Even if you quit once sent home, you are still marked up.
If you get questioned and they send you home, would it be better to call in and quit? Sounds like if they send you home, you are done anyway but if you quit vs being fired maybe it won’t be noted on your U5? Just a thought
Wasn’t the fitness reimbursement only $300? Why would they go to all the trouble for such small dollars? I get the up to $2k for computers but come on, $300?!?!
Just logged into acclaris website and none of my claims have the images avail to view.... they were recently avail on there so Fidelity requested them to remove or something.
Good catch, it’s not. I have the original. And they are working backwards, WageWorks then Acclaris.
To whoever posted the following link: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:C7892Oo15m8J:https://www.acclarisonline.com/common/computer_reimbursement.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
I think fidelity changed that document.... if you notice the signature like states:
"I acknowledge that the above information is accurate and that I maintain ownership of the purchased item(s). I
understand that the reimbursement I receive from the company is taxable under IRS regulations and that I will be subject
to appropriate withholdings. In the event of an overpayment, I hereby agree to promptly reimburse the Company for
these amounts"
Which I am 100% certain was not in ANY of the original documents.
They probably would have fired people on the spot for calling to rectify any discrepancy.
They got my receipt from Best Buy from 2013. It’s not time based.... I was fired 2 weeks ago from my 2013 purchase, but I know of a girl from my office fired in January for a 2016 purchase. My guess maybe dollar amounts? Larger purchases first?
How did they expect employees to handle exchanges in the perfect situation? Wage works doesn’t have a process. Contact payroll and have them withdraw from your check?
A company with nothing to hide doesn't remove links like that. Open, clear, and transparent ... these are not qualities in which Fidelity is actively demonstrating.
IMO, it's not even fair to say that those people made a mistake. The form for the computer reimbursement stated that it was for personal use, which suggests that you could do whatever you wanted with the stuff you purchased. And there was no timeline or policy about returning your equipment after a certain amount of time so the mistake is actually on Fidelity's end. What's more suspicious is that the reimbursement form, which was accessible via this URL as of yesterday has been removed:
https://www.acclarisonline.com/common/computer_reimbursement.pdf
You can still access the cached version here, but it may be invalided soon too:
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:C7892Oo15m8J:https://www.acclarisonline.com/common/computer_reimbursement.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
I'd highly suggest keeping a local copy of the reimbursement form for your records.
I’m sure some stores will or have told them to F off. Why would they want to subject themselves to possible liability?
Every store. They call receipt by receipt. #WitchHunt
What stores did they get transaction details? I see apple.com. Any others? Bestbuy?
They are going back at least 6 years (it is rumored), and looking at everything and anything to fire employees for "cause." Primarily though, the computer and fitness reimbursement programs.
Is this limited to computer and fitness equipment purchases? Or is literally every reimbursement being reviewed for validity for the last few years?
You thought wrong, if anything they double down, and move faster. Fire employees before they resign so they can not hop to the competition.
I would imagine they would put a halt to these for awhile. I saw this a few moments ago https://thomaslawgroup.net/finra-inquiry-fidelity/
Just because they hit your site does not mean they will not be back. They are working backwards time wise with receipts. Total witch hunt. A previous poster hit the nail on the head. Each person let go did make a mistake, but its oblivious Fidelity took this hard line to let people go in order to reduce costs, leaving those fired without a leg to stand on to retaliate. No company that values their employees does something like this. If you survive, and you are in a sales role, you win the right to tell clients fees are changing in July. Fun!
Does anyone know if the audits are over? ie once they hit your site do they handle everyone or do we need to worry about losing more colleagues in more waves of this? Tired of working in a fear-based environment.
Dang, so are they questioning every single fitness and computer reimbursement? Seems like a lot of people have been let go in the last few days. I heard we were at around 150-200 through last year, the last couple days must make it 250-300. Any insight?
It’s a fact that the terminated employees made a mistake. They shouldn’t pretend it was ok to keep a reimbursement for a returned item. Also a fact, Fidelity wants to reduce workforce in a cost effective and PR-friendly way. They also don’t want very talented ex-employees to have an easy time joining the competition. What better way to accomplish than to find a minor violation, axe hundreds, pay no severance, and tarnish the terminated employees’ regulatory records so the employees can’t work in the industry for any reputable firm again, while preaching integrity to the media. If they actually cared about the employees and the goal was to correct bad behavior, how about warnings and coaching as the first step? Nope, years of silence and then straight to termination and public disclosures. We have seen top shelf employees get blindsided by this and families affected. The investigators love the power they wield over their subjects. No wonder the role attracts the type of people it does, you know what I’m talking about. Open secret in the industry that Fidelity does this. Competitors have been happy to hire Fidelity talent in the past but not if there is a stain on brokercheck. Sick of stress wondering if tomorrow it’s you based on some minor thing from years ago you can’t even remember. Feels like the only way to protect your livelihood is to take the first step which takes guts. How to tell friends and family the reason why you’re suddenly looking to take a parallel job at Schwab?
Nice one, Fidelity. Now we are firing quality sales representatives. The same people you hire to spew all the PAS bull***t. These people lied for you for a living. All the nonsense about how PAS is so much better than a target date fund. You pay for peace of mind etc... Now we’re going to fire them over a couple hundred bucks on a loophole that you failed to address ahead of time. And while you’re at it, make sure nobody ever hires them again. A%%holes!
Early reports of "Numerous" VP FCs and WPAs escorted out of Convington today.
As an outside consultant that specializes in employee employer relations I see this doing a lot of internal damage. This type of approach combined with the recent news tends to make good long term employees lose motivation. That’s not a guarantee but the odds aren’t good.
Fidelity is in serious crowd control mode currently and here’s how it goes down. Anytime Fidelity makes headline news or any articles are posted about Fidelity an emergency press conference “flash meeting” occurs with upper management and that disburses to the appropriate channels. The trolls seen within these posts are one of those channels that’s only mission and direction is to keep these posts under control. As seen they will attempt to throw in a jab here or there in an attempt to paralyze everyone and to silence this thread. Fidelity makes headline news a year ago around highly compensated PM’s s-xually assaulting younger employees. Fidelity makes headline news around star PM in s-xual harassment. Fidelity makes headline news with VBO. Fidelity makes headline news with advisors selling one product more over another because of commission. Fidelity makes headline news around computer benefit and 200 layoffs. Ever since Fidelity became the spot light in which s-xual harassment existed in the workplace, Fidelity is now attempting or trying to justify this insane crazy witch hunt of an act to terminate employees for violating company perks. Which is policy that was made up on the spot. What’s next scanning everyone’s internet browser history to see if an employee is reading something off of Espn or buying something off of Home Depot. And then company policy made up at that given moment is “employee shouldn’t be doing”that your fired. Or Fidelity audits red brick health to determine people aren’t working out when they post there daily workout activities. Or wait Fidelity audits fitness reimbursement and finds outs the employee who submitted reimbursement for gym membership isn’t going to the gym. They must have committed fraud. Fire them. This is ludicrous. Terrible company. Painting horrible reputation and brand more importantly every active employee walking on egg shells. #trollscantderailthisthread.
I think what a lot of people did was wrong, however to mark a U5 as fraud is a steep punishment. Should just make you repay and fire you and not be eligible for rehire.
If Fidelity was smart, they would reverse course on this witch hunt, and offer to rehire those impacted. Then put that in the papesr. These were ambiguously worded programs that would not hold up under legal scrutiny. Who would want to work at a place that may, on a whim, decide to access your private receipts and credit card transactions? They were upset that a few people committed actual fraud--and deserved to be fired--but then decided to bury a bunch of innocent people on technicalities.
Troll here. I'm sorry. I wanted to believe the company I worked for the last six years wouldn't stoop so low. It's unfathomable to me that Fidelity would allow this to happen. The headlines may still be anti-employee but those working at the company know what occurred. There is no justification for for accessing private receipt transactions. There was also no policy in place that mandated how long someone needed to own a computer or gym equipment. This was a major abuse of power by Fidelity. While the investigators can continue to j**k themselves off for "catching" violations, they must know that they acted in the most unethical way of all. I wish the reporters would look into this further and not just print soundbites. Maybe they are also scared of Fidelity.
Funny that 7 days ago, the troll was adamant that, "Fidelity does not have access to store receipts period!" That was discredited pretty clearly today by the "investigator".