SunTrust is laying off about 100 tech workers and moving much of their work overseas after having the soon-to-be-terminated employees train some of the people who will do their work, Computerworld is reporting.
The employees, who were told in September of the cuts, are required – as part of the severance agreement – to be on call to offer help to SunTrust for the next two years for no additional compensation, according to t he magazine.
The AJC has over the past several weeks contacted SunTrust several times to ask about the story. The bank has declined comment. Contacted again this afternoon, a bank spokesman said the company’s position has not changed.
Rumors previously revolved around layoffs and non-American workers. The requirement that terminated employees remain available to consult with the company that let them go is a new element. It is also, at least according to attorneys quoted by Computerworld, one that is legally problematic.
That kind of post-employment requirement is most typically used with top executives, those attorneys said.
One lawyer quoted by Computerworld is Sara Blackwell who represents Disney workers who were replaced by foreign workers. She told Computerworld that that if a company called former workers for help and did not pay them it would violate the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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