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Employee commits suicide after MongoDB fired her during mental health leave

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Re: Employee commits suicide after MongoDB fired her during mental health leave

#111

Post by spl757 »

pm90 wrote: post #101

This is incredibly sad. From the complaint ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46405847 ): """ When she arrived at the hospital and learned that Annie had died, Ms. Connolly collapsed and screamed non-stop for hours. Hospital staff placed Ms. Connolly in a separate room for observation, and the doctor who declared Annie dead had to speak to other family members about what had occurred because Ms. Connolly could no…

Corporations are drivin solely by increasing profits for shareholders. Anything else is just for show or compliance with law, and even that is rare because the fine is almost always miniscule in the grand scheme of things.

Re: Employee commits suicide after MongoDB fired her during mental health leave

#112

Post by knowitnone3 »

canucker2016 wrote: post #87

from NY Post, https://nypost.com/2025/12/27/us-news/nyc-woman-driven-to-su... But on Sept. 13, 2024, she attempted suicide again with the same lethal drug “citing the shame she felt at being fired by MongoDB,” according to the lawsuit. Surman apparently regretted the decision and called 911 herself — but died on the way to the hospital. Mongo later backtracked on an offer to retrieve Annie’s life insurance policy for…

"right before a mass layoff to avoid paying her severance" if that was the case, wouldn't they have done that for everybody in order to avoid severance pay? Also , according to the Labor Board, "There is no requirement in the FLSA for severance pay. Severance pay is a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee's representative)." So if they didn't want to pay a severance, they didn't have to. Her parents failed her more than anybody and they are only trying to turn her into a paycheck.

Re: Employee commits suicide after MongoDB fired her during mental health leave

#113

Post by knowitnone3 »

ModernMech wrote: post #58
aeternum wrote: post #8

Sad. And perhaps a controversial take but consider the counterfactual: Should it be illegal to fire employees that recent took mental health leave? Get a bad review or put on a PIP? It's already becoming a common strategy to immediately take mental health/sick leave.

Here's another controversial take: as long as healthcare is tied to employment, companies shouldn't be allowed to fire someone except for actual negligence / malice. If they suck at their job, find them another one at the company -- there has to be something they can do in a company of 5k employees.

so you'll take janitorial after your SWE job? if yes, the go for it but what happens you become disgruntled because you're no longer getting paid the same? You think it wise to keep a disgruntled employee?

Re: Employee commits suicide after MongoDB fired her during mental health leave

#114

Post by cindyllm »

knowitnone3 wrote: post #113
ModernMech wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's another controversial take: as long as healthcare is tied to employment, companies shouldn't be allowed to fire someone except for actual negligence / malice. If they suck at their job, find them another one at the company -- there has to be something they can do in a company of 5k employees.

so you'll take janitorial after your SWE job? if yes, the go for it but what happens you become disgruntled because you're no longer getting paid the same? You think it wise to keep a disgruntled employee?

[dead]

Re: Employee commits suicide after MongoDB fired her during mental health leave

#115

Post by naughtyDB »

0xbadc0de5 wrote: post #71

This is sad and tragic but ultimately I don't think Mongo bares any responsibility here. If her partner left her while she was having a prolonged mental health crisis, would her partner be to blame for her suicide? I would argue: no.

[dead]

Re: Employee commits suicide after MongoDB fired her during mental health leave

#116

Post by ivraatiems »

ivraatiems wrote: post #61
joecool1029 wrote: post #38

I don't know legally how it works, but my gut says if this is found to be a wrongful termination under state/local/FMLA, then it also stands to reason that this could also be a wrongful death. From 1960, but it covers this line of thinking wrt suicide: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?a... Anyway here's the actual complaint (I read it after I wrote the above), I guess her parents/counsel tho…

Thank you for finding this, really helpful. I checked PACER and didn't realize it was filed in state court instead. The complaint is speaking and it is aggressively written and, to my non-lawyer mind, pretty well drafted. If I were Mongo, I would be trying aggressively to settle this and make it go away. If I were the parents, I would be trying very hard to force any other outcome, preferably one where Mongo pays the…

(For anyone looking now, the case has been removed to federal court for the moment. Caption "Surman, by and through the Administrators of her Estate, Gregory Surman and Karen Connolly et al v. MONGODB, INC.", 2026cv00166 in SDNY.)
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