UHG/Optum will be laying off every month this year to close financial gaps; instead of doing it in one big event to avoid negative press. I suspect when they are done it wouldn't surprise me if the the numbers reach 10k or beyond. Amazing; and of course they are hitting the older employees and higher grades. Yet, they are bringing thousands of millenials.
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I am in the same position. I have worked here for 4 years and threatened with losing my job 4 times due to losing clients and merger. Excellent review every year, exceeded production requirements and constantly helped coworkers daily with their own work. I was told on Tuesday that Wednesday was my last day. Apparently my new director chose people who have 15-19 years with the company and still have no clue how to follow up with complex AR denials. Very disappointed. They are already in danger of losing this VERY large client, won't be long now.
I was said my position was eliminated and my end date will be in two weeks.I have been with the company for 4 years and contributed alot. My performance review was good every year and no prior notice whatsoever.
Sad sad sad
the little guy gets the shaft again while the greedy management get huge bonuses again.
Is it possible for the workers to unionize?
Really? Is the severance packet only 6 weeks? That stinks. Other companies give you at least six months.
I was laid off october 5 i signed the agreement but how long does it take to get the severance pay ? HR said between November 15 and 29 I should receive it
And how is it paid ? Direct deposit or check? 45 days seems a bit much to wait
I also agree they discriminate most of my department was Hispanic and I'm white the other 2 who were let go were black and asian. They also told the other 2 Hispanic men in my department they get to keep their jobs but shh dont tell the other 3.
Kissing a– gets you really far there i guess
I was told my position was being eliminated in Sept 2017 although the IT group I was forced into months before remained intact. I was offered a severance that was not acceptable to me so I did not sign or accept it. Instead, I found an attorney who began by attempting to negotiate a better severance. Their legal demwits decided to act like a-holes about it with my legal team. They dug deeper into my story and what happened to me the years I was there and we are in a full-fledge legal case with them now. Unfortunately (until Jan 2020) you are forced to sign a clause of arbitration at the UHG/Optum360 that I was working in so thusly I have gone through a lot. My attorney's got the EEOC - right to sue. Along the way, they have tried every single thing to stop me. I have had to sit through numerous depositions for myself and be (allowed to) witness my team deposing the defendants' side. They attempted to get several of the counts (MJS) suppressed but was denigned by the arbitrator. They showed up to a mediation in bad faith with no intent on actually attempting to mediate a settlement. Was a complete waste of time. Now it's arbitrator time in a few months. The arbitrator is a role paid by the defendants' side which means he leans toward the defendants' side. It is said that no arbitaror will give a true settlement to plantiff becuase they are always concerned about getting future business from the defendants and other big company's out there who would think twice about hiring an arbitrator how settled a case fairly for millions even if millions are appropriate and would prevail with a jury trial. Arbitrators are supposed to be impartial but they really are not. I live in California and I am writing a book about this entire experience and how I was treated from this company. My case involves: racial discrimination, equal pay act, retaliation, hostile work environment, fraud, sabotage, age discrimination, gender discrimination, failure to investigate, labor code, and wrongful termination. They are guilty of all of this and more.
The following practices constitute age discrimination
1) Requiring workers to retire once they reach a certain age
2) Treating older workers worse than younger workers, by, for example, targeting them for layoff or discipline
3) Giving younger workers higher pay or more favorable work assignments
4) Making decisions, based on stereotypes about older people (for example, refusing to include older workers in training program because of a belief they are unwilling or unable to learn new things)
If any of these things have happened to you, you may file a charge of discrimination with the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
You may also file a lawsuit for age discrimination. However, the employee must first file a charge discrimination with the EEOC to get a “right to sue” letter.
For more info about how to file an age discrimination charge with the EEOC, go to
https://www.eeoc.gov/
Employees & Applicants
How to File a Charge
According to AARP, most people believe age discrimination begins when workers hit their 50s.
Last year, the EEOC received 20,857 charges of age discrimination. Age discrimination makes up more than 1 in 5 of the discrimination charges received by the EEOC.
According to the EEOC, Age discrimination complaints are a priority for them
https://www.aarp.org/work/employee-rights/info-02-2009/age_discrimination_fact_sheet.html
https://www.aarp.org/work/on-the-job/info-2017/age-discrimination-facts.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2014/01/31/the-ugly-truth-about-age-discrimination/#338af2af44e7
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/suing-age-discrimination.html
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/16/637499979/are-job-ads-targeting-young-workers-breaking-the-law
https://www.blr.com/HR-Employment/Discrimination/Age-Discrimination
https://www.asaging.org/blog/epidemic-age-discrimination
I was let go at the end of August 2018, no notice whatsoever. At least 20 others also got the axe.
Several layoffs this month at Optum Tech. Though the paperwork stated 9/12, I was let go the day I was notified. Over 15 years with the company, and only 6 months after I was tapped to transfer to another department to fill a position that was lost to the recent VSIP. As I was the least senior member on the team, I was the most expendable. I was convinced my transfer was a new opportunity for growth and stability and was told I was doing very well until this happened.
I'm at Optum Global Soluions, and today 10% of my department got cut (mostly in India).
Today, Becker’s Healthcare announced that the 1200 physicians at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine May be out of network with UNH as of 1/1/19. Good work Wichmann! We are waiting for a Wichmann lying stooge to say that they didn’t meet UNH quality standards. Hmmmm! Steven Stern MD of Northwestern writes policy for UNH. Can’t use the quality lie. The green visor boys have time to concoct a different lie. Good work Wichmann! There will be another envelope at bonus time!
Please learn more about age discrimination
Thank you
https://features.propublica.org/ibm/ibm-age-discrimination-american-workers/
https://www.propublica.org/article/federal-watchdog-launches-investigation-of-age-bias-at-ibm
https://www.propublica.org/article/investigating-ibm-digital-community-ex-employees
Do not sign the severance. That is an ironclad legal document. You will have no rights after you sign. Go to the Department of Labor and report the failure to give WARN notices. UNH will be fined 2-3 months pay with interest across the board. HR Direct are a bunch of Dimwit numb skulls. Assert all of your Title 7 Rights. What you know is worth much more than the severance. Stop being led by a bunch of crooks!
Does anyone know the severence guidelines for Optum? I just found out thursday they were eliminating my position as supervisor they said i have 2 weeks to decide if i want to take the severence (6 weeks for employees who have worked 7 years) or if i want to take a much much lower paying positon which would make me at the same paygrade and level as my staff i currently supervise. They told me my dept was being moved offshore and my staff would be given the same opportunity (severance or change position) but they werent....they just told them the dept was transitioning into a diffrent role anf training will begin in 25 days. In the packet of info they gave me on severence it says i need to sign and fax a severence agreement form to HR direct but there isnt any paperwork or agreement to sign? I called my manager and HR and am waiting back on a response but something seems very wrong with how this is being handled.
My position was eliminated on 5.3. Apparently they are outsourcing my department to the Philippines. Its been the second layoff in my department in less than a year.
@NsyddcT-53nol - Optum or UHG/C? Which area/department?
more layoffs today 4.3.18, I was impacted. Position eliminated.
Experience in Tennessee is consistentwhat I see here...layoffs and early retirement offers with no efforts to hide age discrimination for those trying to keep their jobs. No doubt older workers are being targeted. It's obvious and morale is terrible. Optum is hiring thousands of entry level TDPers...trainees. We all recruited and embraced the kids...most of us mentored them for over 3 years, but now even they are quitting in droves. Experienced staff over age 40 that stick around are being treated with obvious disrespect and downright workplace bullying. Over 50's are really in jeopardy. High performers suddenly get low performance reviews. FMLA interference is blatant but ignored by HR. Many are leaving but facing a more difficult time getting hired elsewhere due to age. It's a very opressive environment, especially with the corporate rhetoric from UHG about culture and values. Wake up, UHG. You wanted to recover from your negative United Healthcare image. Collecting data to use against your customers and getting rid of experienced workers doesn't help. I'm leaving and trying to start a new career in my 50's. Writing is on the wall at Optum.
It's a shame . Optum could have been a great company.
I know people who got VSIP offer. Have you read comments from people laid off? I think this is a nice offering from the company. They don't have to offer that and it's the first time I've heard they offered this. My sister was offered one at another large corporation and didn't take it the first tiime offered. The company didn't let her go and years later when the company offered and she was ready, she accepted. It's actually great to see the company go in this direction.
What is the Optum VSIP incentive - when did they start offering it, and to whom ? I know they have been laying off quite a lot over the course of 2017, but Id like to know more about the VSIP
12/14/17 - Offered "Voluntary" Separation Incentive Program (VSIP). 55+ more than 10 years with company. It isn't age discrimination if you "voluntarily" leave and sign away your rights. The "offer" is enough to scare any employee into taking it. One time offer.
A sure bet if I don't "voluntarily" leave, I will be gone in a general wave of 'work force reductions' soon, without the one-time offer.
55+ with more than 10 years is a targeted discrimination, because statistically those will be the higher earners with more medical claims. However, if the program is "voluntary", then EEOC can't say anything, unless the wording in the offer crosses a line.
I work for Optum Rx and know 4 of ones who were "laid-off". 2 of which were younger and experienced. i didn't even know this was happening until it happened to some people i know. very sad and a very rough time at the company right now
Older workers are being targeted at United Health Care. They have laid off mostly older workers and brought in very young and green millennials who know nothing about the company. That way they can pay them less, but come January they are going to need the older, more experienced workers and they will be long gone.
This is true, up to 10% for Optum Technology IT staff is what we have been told, it is probably larger by the sounds of things. They are targeting multiple pay grades from Senior Director on down to Business Analysts. Many of the resources have 5-10+ years at the company. Some were very surprising to me, i.e., they weren't all poorer performers.
This is obviously not specific to a single site, MN-based, Hartford CT-based employees, further West and South as well. Hartford seems to be losing someone almost on a daily basis. Folks are nervous and rightfully so. Wide scale layoff folks.
Meanwhile they are bringing in 100's if not 1000's of young interns through the "TDP" or Technology Development Program. These kids are right out of college, go through a few rotations around different organizations (mentored and trained by senior IT staff) and are then placed permanently. Meanwhile traditional hiring is very difficult. Pretty obvious what they are doing here. Business as usual, cold, calculated business.
True. I work for Optum (Business Operations) in Oregon and they eliminated an entire team due to a "workforce reduction". Some laid off, others offered a similar job at a higher pay grade without the pay!
I was laid off last week. End date 6/7. Optum IT. Older worker. Are we targeted??? Wish I knew :(
In Phoenix we were let go in waves. They handed us a sheet of paper to ward off age discrimination lawsuits. The ages of those let go were listed, along with the ages of those who were NOT laid off. However, what we saw is that young poor performers were laid off with older good performers. It smelled like a purposeful effort to cull the old wood---even if it was good wood. The employees remaining are still trying to figure out why some of the younger bums are still there, whereas good older employees are gone.
They just eliminated the whole Atlanta, GA office today... can't lie and say I'm not nervous about it all :/
I was walked out 2 weeks ago along with 75 others at Oprumrx. Told that position was eliminated and walked out the same day. Minimal severance package that we will be waiting up to "4-6 weeks" to receive payout from per HRDirect communication. Those layed off ranged from mid level management to front line agents. Seems to be focused on higher paid (ie. tenured and mngt) positions. Sad seeing tenured, high performing agents going while newer, less capable agents remain....clearly $$$$ driven actions rather than based on ability/tenure/performance.
Does anyone know if standard severance via hrdirect guidelines offered? And are people walked out same day or given 60d notice position eliminated and opportunity to look within company in those 60days? Although if you are laid off later in year nothing will be left to apply for.
This is completely true, there have been layoffs each month since January, so far all Optum IT positions in various locations and a specific business resources. Some locations have been deemed non IT locations, other layoffs have been across specific domains or groups such as IT Project Managers. If IT positions are being eliminated then business eliminations must be planned. For those of us that remain, it is difficult to absorb the additional work with the very experienced resources no longer available. As mentioned they are eliminating higher level positions. It's very sad that people who have spent their lives giving to an organization are discounted. It impacts all of us, and it's all about money.
Let's see what happens