Our beloved, irreplaceable daughter Annie should’ve been celebrating her 30th birthday this week. Instead, we’re left marking that milestone without her -- remembering all that she was and grieving… | Greg Surman | 374 comments
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Our beloved, irreplaceable daughter Annie should’ve been celebrating her 30th birthday this week. Instead, we’re left marking that milestone without her -- remembering all that she was and grieving all that should have been. Annie died by suicide last year, after being fired by MongoDB while she was on disability leave. Yesterday, we filed a legal complaint against MongoDB, seeking accountability for Annie’s wrongful termination and wrongful death. The complaint alleges as follows: Annie was on leave receiving intensive mental health treatment when MongoDB demanded her immediate return to work. She asked for an extension to complete her treatment, or at the least a short period to consult with her medical providers about whether and how she might be able to return to work before the treatment was completed. Instead, MongoDB terminated her health insurance and then fired her in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. Shortly afterward, Annie took her own life. An extension of Annie’s leave would have cost MongoDB nothing. We made it clear that they did not need to pay her or hold her job open for her. We just asked them not to fire her while she was in such a vulnerable state, as we feared that would result in tragedy. We just wanted a little more time to get her stabilized. We understand MongoDB may have told some of Annie’s colleagues that she quit. That is not true. MongoDB fired her. We’re pursuing this case to set the record straight and to help ensure that powerful companies like MongoDB do not continue to violate the rights of their employees. | 374 comments on LinkedIn
  • Gsus4@mander.xyzEnglish
    1·
    9 months ago

    This is something you learn the hard way about neoliberal meritocracy…“They only hire the best and you fight to get there, you’re the best until you inevitably aren’t at your best…and once you aren’t at your best even for a moment of weakness, then you are not the best…and you never were”. This is why everyone needs protection from a work culture that burns through people.

  • 0_o7@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    1·
    9 months ago

    Hawkernews being unhinged capitalists as always:

    aeternum: 18h

    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.

    0xbadc0de5: 3h

    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.

    You’re just an expendable cog to the money machine to techbros.

    • VitoRobles@lemmy.todayEnglish
      1·
      9 months ago

      This is sad and tragic but ultimately I don’t think Mongo bares any responsibility here

      Annie was on leave receiving intensive mental health treatment when MongoDB demanded her immediate return to work. She asked for an extension to complete her treatment, or at the least a short period to consult with her medical providers about whether and how she might be able to return to work before the treatment was completed. Instead, MongoDB terminated her health insurance and then fired her in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. Shortly afterward, Annie took her own life.

      Yeah demanding she return to work is the part where they bare responsibility.

      The frustrating part about being an American is tying work to healthcare.

      • 1984@lemmy.todayEnglish
        1·
        9 months ago

        Work being tied to healthcare only makes sense if the entire country would work like a corporation… Oh wait…

  • PabloSexcrowbar@piefed.socialEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    I had this happen to me at a company that is now an IBM subsidiary. I took FMLA leave to get mental health help to cope with the burnout, and about a week after I got back, they took me into an office for a “quick catch-up meeting” where they told me it wasn’t working out and that I had to go. I’d worked my balls off, getting promoted directly from product support up to software engineering within a year, but apparently that didn’t indicate anything positive to them.