Wells Fargo Fires Employees for Faking Work

More than a dozen workers reportedly affected
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 14, 2024 12:30 AM CDT
Updated Jun 16, 2024 3:10 PM CDT
Wells Fargo Fires Employees for Faking Work
A sign for a Wells Fargo location is seen on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Portland, Ore.   (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

As tools that allow users to "fake" being at work proliferate, Wells Fargo has reportedly fired more than a dozen workers who were allegedly faking their keyboard activity. According to Bloomberg (paywall), as cited by the BBC and Yahoo Finance, the affected employees worked in the firm's wealth- and investment-management unit. It's not clear whether they were using the tools (which include things like "mouse jigglers" that move a person's mouse to prevent their computer from going idle) while working from home; Wells Fargo has since early 2022 been using a "hybrid flexible model" and currently expects employees to be in the office at least three days a week. Quartz reports Wells Fargo's remote work model is among the less-strict of the financial industry, with other CEOs taking a more "hardline" stance on it.

The staffers, many of whom had worked for the bank for less than five years, were "discharged after review of allegations involving simulation of keyboard activity creating impression of active work," according to disclosures filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Says the bank in a statement, "Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behavior." Companies are increasingly using surveillance technology—including eye movement and keystroke monitoring, website history tracking, and screenshots—to monitor remote employees. (More Wells Fargo stories.)

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