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Engineer Says Software Firm Cut Her Maternity Leave Short After Her Baby Died

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Re: Engineer Says Software Firm Cut Her Maternity Leave Short After Her Baby Died

#41

Well this may be a controversial stance, but her baby passed at birth. There was no maternity leave to take any more. What there was to take maybe was a bereavement leave.

She spent 9 months pregnant and then gave birth. You can’t just go to work the next day, whether you’re in mourning or not.

Re: Engineer Says Software Firm Cut Her Maternity Leave Short After Her Baby Died

#42
post #17

Well this may be a controversial stance, but her baby passed at birth. There was no maternity leave to take any more. What there was to take maybe was a bereavement leave.

Sure, but the bereavement leave for a child should be much more than 8 weeks. And it costs so little to provide since it is relatively rare in the developed world.

While no doubt someone will never fully emotionally get over something so tragic, sometimes the best thing for you is to get back on the horse and your work and your life and move on.

Re: Engineer Says Software Firm Cut Her Maternity Leave Short After Her Baby Died

#43

Well this may be a controversial stance, but her baby passed at birth. There was no maternity leave to take any more. What there was to take maybe was a bereavement leave.

What was needed was to be human even if just for a moment. Employees acting on behalf of companies tend to do the very worst things that they would never condone if it happened to them or someone they love. In this case the obvious thing would be to give the person as much time off as needed to recover, not to ask her to come back in because there wasn't any maternity leave to be taken. This whole adherence to 'the letter' rather than 'the spirit' is highly annoying.

Re: Engineer Says Software Firm Cut Her Maternity Leave Short After Her Baby Died

#44

She got six weeks instead of eight. How dare they. She could've applied for more days based on her psychological state. Also how dare they not pay her commissions earned by her team while she was away. I think the tone is all wrong here. Economically, it makes sense to "discriminate" against pregnant women, so the discussion should be more "Here's why you shouldn't do it" and less "How dare you do it!". Just my $0.02…

> Economically, it makes sense to "discriminate" against pregnant women. I've heard this repeated a lot but I don't get it (I'm an employer). I mean I can't think of many things that would hurt team morale and hiring reputation more than treating a young female employee like shit just because she got pregnant (let alone went through something as horrific as losing a child). What kind of short-sighted psychopath boss…

>I mean I can't think of many things that would hurt team morale and hiring reputation more than treating a young female employee like shit just because she got pregnant

Anecdote time based on my experience in SV and tech, and second-hand anecdotes from friends in NYC finance:

Curiousgal's viewpoint isn't uncommon. The harshest judgment in these situations comes from other women. Men are generally more sympathetic, and if they're not, they're too scared to say anything.

Women in competitive & high-paying fields like tech and finance can be brutal, especially if they feel like holding off on having children was a sacrifice that they had to make in order to establish themselves in their career.

I would not be surprised if this decision came all the way down from a female manager, with men lower on the chain voicing opposition and being overruled.

Re: Engineer Says Software Firm Cut Her Maternity Leave Short After Her Baby Died

#45

Her maternity leave was cut from 8 to 6 WEEKS I had to do a double take there, I read it as months first time. How can a woman give birth and be back at work in eight weeks? Six weeks seems impossible baby or not, the recovery time for pregnancy and birth can be many months. If I were a woman living in a society like that I think I’d either not have children or not work at all.

Pretty normal in the United States.

Re: Engineer Says Software Firm Cut Her Maternity Leave Short After Her Baby Died

#46

Well this may be a controversial stance, but her baby passed at birth. There was no maternity leave to take any more. What there was to take maybe was a bereavement leave.

It's not controversial, it's the HR literal interpretation of their policy. I cannot stress enough that HR is NOT your friend. They only care about protecting the company's ass. Never confide anything to an HR person, it will go straight to management and they will use it against you.

Re: Engineer Says Software Firm Cut Her Maternity Leave Short After Her Baby Died

#47

Her maternity leave was cut from 8 to 6 WEEKS I had to do a double take there, I read it as months first time. How can a woman give birth and be back at work in eight weeks? Six weeks seems impossible baby or not, the recovery time for pregnancy and birth can be many months. If I were a woman living in a society like that I think I’d either not have children or not work at all.

Pretty normal in the United States.

Who looks after the child? I don’t understand how this is possible?

Re: Engineer Says Software Firm Cut Her Maternity Leave Short After Her Baby Died

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the company's standpoint, any employee that quits is simply a cash giveaway and a huge loss.

Some more than others.

so true >> https://www.businessinsider.com/andy-rubin-90-million-exit-p...

Re: Engineer Says Software Firm Cut Her Maternity Leave Short After Her Baby Died

#50
post #7

> Some companies have policies that can discriminate against people who are on protected leaves by denying them commissions they have already earned Wtf? How can that possibly be a thing?

Do these people just sit around and spend time coming up with ways to screw others over? How the fuck is this thing even legal, let alone ethical? Makes me so mad

Yes. Otherwise they would have nothing to say in meetings.
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