A pregnant woman was not allowed to work from home. After the death of her newborn child, the court ordered the company to pay $22.5 million (approximately Rs 211 crore in Indian currency). The company has paid the compensation as ordered. This incident occurred in February 2021. In a related case, the court recently ordered a company in Ohio, USA, to pay this compensation to the young woman who lost her child.

According to news reports, the employee took a risk by working long hours in the office after becoming pregnant. Following her doctor's advice, she requested permission to work from home. The company, Chelsea Walsh Total Quality Logistics, ignored her request. The pregnant woman needed surgery. Afterward, the doctor advised her to rest and work from home. Consequently, the woman requested the company to allow her to work from home, but officials were reluctant to grant this permission. The company even stated that she was required to attend work. Otherwise, her salary would be deducted and she would lose health insurance. Because of this, despite her pregnancy, the woman had to come to the office despite her doctor's advice. She started working on February 22nd. Despite her doctor's advice, after working from the office for three days, she went into labor on the evening of February 24th.

The woman gave birth to a baby girl on February 24. The newborn died in her mother's arms just hours after birth. The woman's lawyer told the court that the baby, named Magnolia, had a heartbeat. The newborn died just 90 minutes after being born 18 weeks premature. The woman was admitted to the hospital just hours before her company approved her work-from-home application, which she no longer needed.

The young woman's family filed a lawsuit against the company alleging negligence. It was alleged that the newborn died because the company did not allow work from home. A Hamilton County jury in Ohio found Chelsea Walsh Total Quality Logistics responsible for the death of a newborn baby. The court initially ordered the company to pay $25 million in damages. Later, the court found the company to be 90 percent responsible for the accident. As a result, the county court awarded $22.5 million in damages. The company compensated the young woman in accordance with that order.

PC: Anandabazar