Nafisah Chowdhury gave an interview to the Toronto Star:
U.S. company fires new mom who asked to work remotely to care for baby in NICU. Why this wouldn’t be legal in Ontario
When Marissa Hughes’s adopted newborn Judah was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit in December, she requested to work remotely. Her employer, Kyte Baby, a Texas-based baby clothing company, promptly fired her.
The move sparked outrage and a boycott of Kyte Baby. The company’s founder, Ying Liu, has since posted multiple apology videos on TikTok.
Liu’s apology has been viewed six million times on TikTok while Hughes’ GoFundMe to cover medical expenses for Judah has nearly doubled its goal of $50,000 (U.S.).
“I was the one that made the decision to veto her request to go remote while she has to stay in the NICU to take care of her adopted baby,” Liu said in her apology video. “And when I think back, this was a terrible decision. I was insensitive, selfish and was only focused on the fact that her job had always been done on-site and I did not see the possibility of doing it remotely.”
Could the same thing happen in Canada? No, but there are still inequities in accessing remote work, experts say. Here’s what you need to know:
