Thread regarding Intel Corp. layoffs

Do not do it! I was on medical leave and got terminated without a package….one I could have had had I not been on mloa. By the way, I need a kidney transplant and I have been working full time most of the time. I went out on mloa due to severe physical exhaustion and complications from renal failure.

OP doesn’t want to game the system. The need is to get the emotional legs back underneath the body. With Intel’s track record of layoffs the last 20 years, however, hanging on at Intel is not advisable. Find something else with less employment status drama, you won’t regret it!

How have your past reviews looked? A string of BE and/or IRs maybe?

The 'stress' you are feeling could be your inner self telling you what you already know, that this job is not a good fit for you. Intel is a pressure cooker and you are about to pop.

Whether you get waxed or not, I'll bet you will be way happier at a different company.

I am sorry you are stressed. Now where exactly does it say that workers are entitled to a stress free life and that somebody else has to pay for it (even if not Intel)?

Sure, you may 'get away with it' but that seems to be a loathsome and selfish moral position to take.

I try to understand what sort of value system, world view or upbringing could lead to an adult arguing such an indefensibly low bar. Please help me understand.

shaky ground??? I agree that if you are trying to use MLOA as a tool so you don't get layoff, most likely it will not work, and you will get layoff no matter what if your number has been called.

On the other hand, if you are 100% sure that you are being layoff and if you are put in a condition were emotionally this is affecting you as it is a BIG change for anyone, then by all means do take a MLOA and cash out 26-52 weeks and at least have some economical peace of mind to get ready for you next phase in life since once you are gone after the 9 weeks, that is it.

Some people here may not like the idea taking the moral high ground but whatever! I am sure some of those are the same ones that are pushing the woke agenda and voting with their as--s because they were offended by the men orange guy tweets .. oh boo boo...

How is the Build Back Better working for you now were some of us al losing our jobs because the as--s running the economy to the ground?? he-l yeah, I will take an MLOA and more.

@Op it's pretty clear you are on shaky ground here. Many people have tried to game the system in prior layoffs by suddenly claiming mental issues and going for medical leave.

Be very careful especially with writing any of this in your Intel email account or using a company provided phone. That is property of Intel and you should assume anything your write will be discovered by HR. Intel also has investigators in HR department.

Good luck. I myself have a different ethical bar so, I would never put in for medical leave in this situation. I'd buck up and get a job that was more aligned with my mental capacity to deal with it. Maybe a barista at Starbucks or a bank teller job.

Gosh, people can’t read, can they? OP never said he wanted to maximize paid time off. Others have that info. OP just wanted to know if he could take MLOA and how.

It’s pretty clear most of you have never dealt with serious mental health issues. Or, more likely, you’re brains are too clouded with g-n oil, toxic masculinity hormones, and rancid “The Goode Olde Days cologne” you’ve been wearing since the Eisenhower administration to admit it.

Anxiety and burn out can be significant, life impacting issues and are worthy of MLOA particularly if the workplace and/or environment are causes.

Now a broken arm? If you go out on MLOA with a broken arm, you are truly a grifting si--y.

The author gave themselves away by saying their motivation was to maximize the benefit to his/her/they/them/its personal situation.

We are not talking about a broken arm here... We are talking about this gaming of the system which drives up cost for all. There is no free lunch and those who say to take insurance because it's there are grifters and a drag on society. Shame on you.

Great thread! Will surely get HRs attention so when this guy makes the move they will have a heads up. too funny

The OP started off claiming mental health issues but then follow up with this, which is it?

it is not "gaming" the system but rather taking care of me and my family (emotionally and economically) the best possible way since intel is doing the same. It is just business at the end of the day and this works BOTH WAYS...

Bet the OP and the vocal defender is one in the same. lol

Y’all’s naïveté is adorbs.

Insurance is there to use if you need it. If the OPs doc agrees the OP needs STD, there is no fraud.

The cost of insurance - and medical costs - will go up whether any of us do/don’t do anything. None of us could use our insurance ever and the insurance companies would figure out a way to raise costs. (Remember those car insurance discounts we all got during Covid for not driving? My rates sure as heck somehow managed to increase in 2021 and 2022 even though fewer folks are on the roads.)

Medical costs go up because of the insurance companies and how in bed they are with the government.

OP pays for insurance coverage. He should use it.

OP said “ I am mentally not able to function and perform my day-to-day work duties due to layoff stress and seriously need to take a medical leave.”

So, is the OP already taking days off due to not able to function and perform at the mention of layoffs, like a fainting goat? If not taking days off already, does that mean the OP is not able to do anything at work? and the manager and the peers not getting anything done from the OP?

@1awi+1jrHlVk3, you wrote if someone is in need of medcial leave it causes the following:

• Medical costs rise
• Worker productivity goes down
• Insurance costs rise

Who are you????
Are you suggesting if someone is in need of medical leave, they should not seek help because medical cost rises. Is that how you treat your family when they are sick? Unbelievable

What a ridiculous argument:

"Fwiw to the haters… Intel isn’t out of pocket for anything while an employee is on MLOA. Employee is moved off the boons during their leave."

Open your eyes, there is a heavy cost to this abuse,

1. Medical costs rise
2. Worker productivity goes down
3. Insurance costs rise

And people wonder why Intel and the US are in decline...

@ @1jqa+1jrHlVk3
Did the OP say or insinuate ANY type of fraud??? They said, they were in need of med leave. What part do you not understand??? It's not your job to determine this. Are you a medical professional? if not, STFU!!!

‘ Intel isn’t out of pocket for anything while an employee is on MLOA’

Says the same type of person that thinks the government pays for things. Where do you think that money comes from? It comes from those of us who work for a living, we get less so welfare queens like you don’t have to work. What kind of lesson are you teaching your children?

When you get busted for insurance fraud don’t say you weren’t warned.

Fwiw to the haters… Intel isn’t out of pocket for anything while an employee is on MLOA. Employee is moved off the boons during their leave.

Disability insurance - which the employee chooses to purchase - pays their wages while they’re out.

If anything, this saves Intel money because the employee will be paid by STD - not Intel - during the 9 week redeployment time.

For the folks saying “ooh, this is so bad at a time when we should be helping Intel…” Intel (and any other business) doesn’t care about you and if you want to help or not. You’re a number to them (literally a WWID), an asset in a database like one of the tools in the Fab, and if they decide your number isn’t needed anymore, even if you put in 120 hour weeks for no pay to “help”, they will show you to the door like everyone else.

Always put yourself before the company in corporate America. They will put the company before you every time. If you want to work some place where employees are valued and working hard is “helping” and appreciated, go to a small business where you’re not just 1 out of 130,000 cogs in a corporate wheel.

Too many people on the wagon and not enough people pulling... Imagine if everyone decided they were 'stressed' and needed to get free cheese and a medical leave... Society would collapse.

Some of you entitled snowflakes that think you're so smart are going to be surprised when you discover that HR has already thought of this and has dealt with it in past layoffs.

"This means employers are prohibited from terminating an employee while they are on FMLA leave."

That's not correct. They can terminate you if you're on leave. They cannot terminate your FOR taking leave. Just goes to show you these boards aren't always accurate.

Hahaha! The best thread on this topic so far. Taking medical leave to defeat layoffs/cost-cutting. Intel is in serious trouble if this is representative of even one twentieth of the employees! Who says innovation is dead at Intel?

@izz Reed Group will notify the employee's manager. That is how it works. If one want's to be respectful, you can send a manager a very short note but with no medical details whatsoever.

OP, If I were so fragile to need a medical leave at the mention of a layoff, why would I even want to go into employment at a high pressure job like the Intels and Amazons of the world? Seems you were clueless or fraudulent to begin with and wanted a cushy, low stress and high paying job that was guaranteed for life. I think that just doesn't exist in this country.

WTF?!? "rather taking care of me and my family (emotionally and economically) the best possible way since intel is doing the same. It is just business at the end of the day and this works BOTH WAYS..."

????

Then why do you have layoff stress? Seems like you figured out a crooked way to try to avoid layoffs so you shouldn't have any stress.

It is because of d-bugs like this that the rest of the honest employees suffer in corporate America.

@bel: “ You can take medical leave and you surely should NOT tell anyone from HR or management, and especially not tell your manager.”

LOL. Really? You are on leave, so not showing up for work. And your manager does not know why you are absent and not working?

@gyk+1jrHlVk3 True that. This MF has done it before.

@efe.. and who told you some of us want to find another job ? The only immoral thing in all of this is a CEO taking $172M in hiring bonus and then letting go 20% of its workforce at the same time to be able and "make" their numbers.

Pray that your number is not call and if so, make sure you keep these posts safe so you can figure out the best way to take care of you and your family since no one else will.

Stop drinking that kool-aid, it does not have vitamin C...

You can ABSOLUTELY be laid off during medical leave, Google it. Yes even in CA, it just can't be because you are on leave. You can’t save your job because you go on leave, and leave still has to be approved, a simple visit one time to a MD wont necessarily get leave approved either, they will be ready for people to do this, you won't be the only one attempting this

“ For the haters out there, it is not "gaming" the system but rather taking care of me and my family‘

whatever let’s you sleep at night, its immoral but it sounds like you can’t be bothered with finding a new job like everyone else.

What a great bunch of people on this site. Most likely the 2015/2016 ACT folks. Helping each other at a time when we need help.

If you work on CA or CO and if you are exempt, you can cash out up to 8 weeks of non-used vacation time and that is per state laws which go above the regular Intel policy and as such it is disclosed on the employee vacation policy guidelines.

So basically, you would get at least the 26 weeks MLOA + up to 8 weeks of vacation + unused sabbatical + 1 week per year of service assuming they use this formular and not the 1.2 days as back in 2016 ACT but we are almost certain sure they will do a compensation per years of service.

This route(MLOA) will yield and extra 17 weeks(in top of the vac, sabb, ..etc) if you were just to stay the 9 weeks to look for another job inside..

Sounds to me like a no brainer unless there is a catch-22 somewhere that you may lose some of the Servance package which it sounds it does not based on some inputs here?

Had a friend impacted by the 2019 layoff. Person was scheduled to go out on planned MLOA on a Friday. 2-3 days before, person was informed that they was part of the layoff & their last day was supposed to be appx 8 weeks off. They went out on MLOA (was having surgery - not optional), spent appx 4-6 months on STD, and the layoff was finalized on the day she returned (i.e. her first day back was her last day at Intel).

I think they >canthink< emphasis, not positive. They absolutely CANNOT lay you off BECAUSE of the MLOA, however.

IIRC, unless Intel has given you a specific number of vacation days (do I remember they went to 'unlimited' in CA a while back? Or is it still 'about three weeks' and 'about four weeks'), I wouldn't bank on them getting paid out as part of a severance package. The reason companies switched to unlimited days off vs a set amount is so they don't have to pay out unused time during separations. Sabbatical, if earned & unused, would get paid out.

As another person pointed out, taking MLOA may impact your UE benefits BUT... my experience taking MLOA in CA was that I took home MORE money when I was out than I did while working (because it isn't taxed), so the math may work out.

YES, the same process applies if you have been notified of a layoff. In fact, the stress increases and the justification for a medical leave is much stronger. The process is the same and it is better to take the medical leave versus meander around the office pretending you are looking for a new job that is not really available while on "re-deployment.". Taking leave will not affect your severance package because that would be discrimination and you could then sue Intel for a very large amount of money. Also, do NOT forget, do not disclose anything to Intel or your manager directly. Also, contact Reed Group if you want to take any vacation or sabbatical time that is DUE to you. Reed group will make the arrangements so that you will get this time added to your medical leave without interruption or having to return to the office. If you return, even for one day after medical leave, Intel can hand you papers and fire you. You will then lose sabbatical or vacation time.

@lqg and @bel.. Thank you! as far as you know, would this process also apply once I get the notification that I am being layoff ? In other words, if I know right now that I will be layoff for sure, but they have not officially told me, what happen if I take the medical leave now or will it be the same if I take it once they inform me that I am being layoff?

Would Intel wait until I come back from my 26 weeks to let me go and would this affect my severance package? I guess I would lose the 8-9 weeks Intel is giving the redeployed employees to look for internal job, but I hope to still get the rest of the package (unused vacations, sabbatical, weeks of services, cobra,..etc)

For the haters out there, it is not "gaming" the system but rather taking care of me and my family (emotionally and economically) the best possible way since intel is doing the same. It is just business at the end of the day and this works BOTH WAYS...

Medical Leave Laws: Employers may not discriminate against an employee for asserting their rights under the FMLA. This means employers are prohibited from terminating an employee while they are on FMLA leave. Furthermore, when an employee returns from FMLA leave, they should be given the same position or a substantially similar one.

In California, you are protected for at least 12 weeks. You can extend this to 20 or even 26 depending on the circumstances and your doctor's feedback to Reed Group.

@cya+1jrHlVk3 - oh yes they can lay employees off on medical leave. Seen it first hand sabbatical won't save anyone as well.

Reed Group will send you some forms at the 1st or 2nd week of medical leave that are somewhat deceptive. They ask you to give Reed Group permission to share your medical details with Intel. Do NOT give this approval under any circumstances. Reed Group will NOT cancel your leave. You never have to share your medical data with your employer.

It is not gaming the system or anything else. Intel created a gigantic mess and you, and others like you, should not have to suffer as a result of Intel's terrible strategy and poor management.

Intel HR is here to actively discourage employees from taking medical leaves that they deserve. Ignore the haters. Good luck.

@bel+1jrHlVk3 sounds like you’ve done this before, gaming the system and looking for handouts iow prime intel material

Once you get approved for the medical leave, Reed Group will contact your manager and HR. They can NOT fire you while you are on medical leave. That is a major violation of Federal laws and Intel can face a very large law suit.

This thread is completely full of bad advice. You can take medical leave and you surely should NOT tell anyone from HR or management, and especially not tell your manager. Someone above indicated to contact Reed Group and that is correct. You will need to at least visit a doctor and talk about the stress, loss of sleep, anxiety, frustration etc... You do not need to get a prescription as a pre-requisite to get approved for medical leave. After you speak to your doctor, then contact Reed Group and ask for the medical leave. It is usually granted immediately (same day) but with the requirement to have your doctor make a comment on a Reed group validation form. Your doctor does NOT approve the leave. After your doctor comments on the form, Reed Group changes the approved Medical leave from a contingency status to approved. You do NOT need to do much more than that. You do not need to re-visit the doctor every week etc.... You will easily get up to 26 weeks of medical leave with medical leave pay, which is about 75% of your base pay but the medical leave in not taxable so it's about the same take-home pay. At the end of your medical leave, you can take any vacation or sabbaticals that are due. You can also apply for a personal leave of absence after the medical leave and that can be up to 1 year off of work (unpaid). If you do all of this, Intel will surely dismiss you once you return, but it is a good way to take some time to find a much better job or start your own business. Sincere good luck and ignore all of the j*rks that are making hostile comments. They do not know your situation.