Some Wells Fargo employees worried about COVID-19 cases in building

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For anyone who can’t work from home, it’s possible to contract COVID-19 at the office. That’s why some employees at one Wells Fargo facility reached out to Channel 9, saying they’re worried about recent cases.

Each week, employees at the Wells Fargo Facility off W.T. Harris Boulevard say they get at least one or two emails from the company. The emails notify them of yet another co-worker who tested positive for COVID-19.

“They do send emails, saying employees have contracted COVID, however, they are still having several employees still work at this facility as if nothing is wrong,” one employee said.

The employees asked to remain anonymous but said they worry about contracting the virus in the building due to the frequency of cases they are being told about.

“They don’t take temperatures, there’s no testing. So we really don’t know how many cases we’ve had in the building,” another employee said.

The concerns stem from the company’s Information Center off W.T. Harris Boulevard, which houses its call center. Wells Fargo said it currently has around 200,000 employees working remotely. They said that location, which normally has thousands of employees in the office, now has less than 15% of its staff in-house.

When Channel 9 brought those employee concerns to Wells Fargo, they sent us a lengthy statement.

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The company said they’ve been very transparent with employees when they’re notified of a positive case. However, they can’t provide the number of cases at the facility. They did say they’ve taken steps to protect employees who are not able to work from home, including mandating social distancing and enhancing cleaning protocols.

The Mecklenburg County Health Department said they are aware of cases at the location but said there has not been a cluster. Their records show the facility does have COVID prevention protocols in place, and there have not been any recent complaints.

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FULL STATEMENT FROM WELLS FARGO:

"Thanks again for reaching out. As a large employer, Wells Fargo has been notified of employees who have unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19, and we are supporting those employees and prioritizing the safety of their colleagues. We are unable to provide numbers of cases, but it is important to note that we communicate transparently with relevant employees whenever we are notified of a positive case.

Our protocols related to COVID-19 have all been established in accordance with public health guidance, including our notification process when we learn of a positive test, instructions we provide to employees following a positive test and our rigorous cleaning processes.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we significantly expanded our work-from-home capabilities, with approximately 200,000 employees now enabled to work remotely. Regarding our Customer Information Center (CIC) location at 1525 West W. T. Harris Boulevard, which contains numerous buildings and would normally house thousands of employees in various business lines, less than 15 percent of employees typically based at the CIC are currently working in the office.

We’ve taken comprehensive action to protect those employees who are not able to work from home, including mandating social distancing, installing protective shields in branches, requiring all employees to wear facial coverings, reconfiguring office space, enhancing cleaning protocols, increasing sanitation supplies, and requiring employee self-screening. We also added an on-site nursing service at our 56 largest locations in the U.S., with nurses screening for COVID-19 symptoms and referring individuals for testing. At branch locations, we are requiring daily temperature screenings for all employees."

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5 Wells Fargo employees test positive for COVID-19 5 Wells Fargo employees test positive for COVID-19

Cox Media Group