01-25-2018
Nine former employees of Aflac intend to participate in a class-action lawsuit against the insurance company. They accuse the company of misleading hires about compensation, misclassifying employees as independent contractors, wage theft, and doctoring earnings reports. Moreover, the employees claim that the company placed enormous pressure on sales associates to make sales. This pressure forced them to resort to fraudulent underwriting techniques, such as selling to customers without their knowledge or consent and illegally bundling the policies.The Intercept, an online news source, asserted that it has interviewed current and former employees to corroborate the allegations. Apparently, the company has been the subject of several investigations by state and federal regulators. Shares of the company were lowered upon news of the impending litigation and the allegations against it. Employees also accuse the company of viciously retaliating against any employee who was a whistleblower on the company’s activities. One of the litigants was a district sales coordinator who achieved awards based on his success. When he reported a fraud, he was stripped of his team and accounts.
Aflac issued a statement denying the stories and asserting its intent to vigorously fight the allegations. “The unfounded articles allege claims including insider trading, fraudulent sales