Denise Prudhomme, a 60-year-old employee at Wells Fargo’s Tempe, Arizona office, last scanned into the building on the morning of Friday, August 16, 2024, at 7 a.m.. Her body was found four days later on Tuesday, August 20. Prudhomme’s third-floor cubicle was located in an underpopulated area with little foot traffic. Several people reportedly noticed a foul odour but attributed it to plumbing issues. A security guard reportedly found her body and called 911.
A Wells Fargo employee who spoke anonymously to local Phoenix-area NBC affiliate 12News expressed shock, telling the outlet: “To hear she’s been sitting at the desk like that would make me feel sick,” adding, “And nobody did anything. That’s how she spent her last moments.”
Another employee who exclusively spoke to 12News anonymously explained that most employees in the Tempe office work remotely, but the building has 24/7 security. That employee suggested someone should have found Prudhomme sooner. “That’s the scary part. That’s the uneasy part,” the employee said. “It’s negligence in some part.”
The Tempe Police Criminal Investigation Bureau is now investigating, with the full cooperation of Wells Fargo, but does not suspect foul play, and the Maricopa County Medical Examiner is working to determine the cause of death.
This incident has raised questions about what happens if an employee dies on the job. If the death is due to employer negligence, dependents may be able to sue for wrongful death. However, if the death is due to natural causes like a heart attack or a stroke in the workplace, the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance will typically not pay out death benefits unless it’s proven that the working conditions or job stress directly contributed to the death⁵. The cause of Prudhomme’s death was still under investigation at the time of writing, so it is unclear whether insurance will pay out in this case.
