Union Slams Wells Fargo for Employee who Died at her Desk

Can You Believe It?

Tempe, AZ (WorkersCompensation.com) – The union representing workers at Wells Fargo is questioning how a dead employee went unnoticed for four days.

Sixty-year-old Denise Prudhomme died while working for Wells Fargo in Tempe, Ariz. On Aug. 16. But officials didn’t find her until Aug. 20. Prudhomme had been dead for four days, officials. Tempe police were called to the Wells Fargo office on the 20th late in the afternoon by on-site security when employees found her unresponsive. Initial investigations into her death found no obvious signs of death and the cause of death is still being investigated, Maricopa County medical examiner said.

In a statement, an outlet that identified itself as Wells Fargo Workers United, questioned how the company could not have noticed that Prudhomme was dead at her desk for four days. According to the Communications Workers of America, the group is a branch of the union "specifically organizing Wells Fargo workers across the county." However, Prudhomme was not a member of the union at the time of her death.

"Wells Fargo monitors our every move and keystroke using remote, electronic technologies - purportedly to evaluate our productivity - and will fire us if we are caught not making enough keystrokes on our computers; however, Denise went unnoticed at her desk for four days. The contradictory nature of electronic surveillance versus an unnoticed death sheds light on the reality of what it means to be a worker at Wells Fargo," the union’s statement said. "We are saddened and outraged by the devastating tragedy and loss of our coworker… who worked as a Business Execution Consultant in Corporate Banking in Tempe, Arizona.”

Officials said it wasn’t clear how Prudhomme went unnoticed for so long. News agencies reported that she worked in a cubicle in an under-populated area of the building, away from the main aisle. Witnesses told police at the time that several people in the area had reported a foul smell in the building. Another employee found her at her desk while they were walking around the building, police said.

"Denise was the only person on her team in Tempe,” the union said in its statement. “This may be one of the reasons why her desk was located in an underpopulated area in the building and nobody checked on her for four days.”

The union went on to make a number of demands of Wells Fargo, saying the “solution is not more monitoring, but ensuring that we are all connected to a  supportive work environment, instead of warehoused away in a back office.”

Witnesses said security rarely checked between cubicles during their patrols. According to the union, Wells Fargo had required its employees to return to the office, even though their teams or supervisors worked in different states, forcing some employees to move to “hub cities.”

The union made four demands of the company. First, the union called for more communication from the company, citing its lack of communication surrounding Prudhomme’s death with other employees. Wells Fargo policy requires notifying the family before communicating with employees, and the company said the police took some time to complete the next-of-kin notification.

The union also called for enhanced safety precautions to alleviate stress for employees, and that the company reevaluate its “hub city” relocation plan and its mandatory “return to the office” policies.

"These plans and policies have only further damaged employee morale," the union said in its statement.

Wells Fargo said it is committed to supporting its employees and their families.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague, Denise Prudhomme. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones, and we have been in touch to ensure they are well supported during this difficult time," the company said.

Wells Fargo has more than 13,000 employees in Arizona. Being together, in person, is the key to success and building community, it said.

"For any employees with specific concerns, we encourage them to continually share their feedback, as this helps us build a stronger company," a company statement read.

The bank had previously said it was “committed to the safety and wellness of our workforce and are reviewing our own internal procedures after this event."

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