A woman on TikTok says JCPenney fired her for not showing up to her scheduled shifts after she went on maternity leave and delivered her baby a day before the due date.
The woman, known as user @saerosmith on TikTok, said the incident happened more than 5 years ago, but she chose to share the story on TikTok just recently.
The original video received over 670,000 views. She also posted a “storytime” video explaining what happened.
The TikToker said the due date for her baby was Sept. 12, so she tried to apply for maternity leave beforehand.
JCPenney allegedly gave her the paperwork to file for Family and Medical Leave, which she said was filed through a separate company known as J Time at the time. Her supervisors told her to fill out the paperwork and send it to J Time, and it would get approved.
“So I sent all that in, and they ‘never received it.’ They ‘never received it,’” the TikToker said, using finger quotes.
She added that she called the company several times and even resent the paperwork several times, but the company insisted they “never received it.”
Eventually, the TikToker delivered her baby at 10 pm Sept. 11, a day before the due date. She said JCPenney called her Sept. 12 to see if she had an update about her pregnancy, and she told them she had her baby the night before. They told her they’d put that information in the system.
A few weeks later, the TikToker went to JCPenney with her newborn baby and asked how she could get on the schedule again, she said. The store’s general manager told her she was fired.
The manager apparently told the TikToker that even though she called out of her shift on Sept. 11, she was scheduled to work on Sept. 12 and during the following two weeks. Since the TikToker didn’t show up to her scheduled shifts or officially call in, the company labeled her a “no call no show” and fired her. Since she was fired, she got put on a “do not rehire” list.
“I was like what the fuck, I was so mad. I’m still mad about that,” the TikToker said.
Fortunately, she was able to find another job within two weeks, she said.
Several viewers urged the TikToker to sue JCPenney, but she said “I don’t have time for that.” She also pointed out that it has been more than 5 years since she was fired.
Still, she said in the caption of her TikTok that “if this happens to others they should TOTALLY take action, I just never wanted to deal with it.”
One viewer disagreed though, saying that her lack of action empowered the company to keep doing the same thing to other soon-to-be parents.
In a response to the comment, the TikToker said, “I agree. I should’ve said/done something then. Unfortunately I didn’t, and I was more worried about finding another job than going through this.”
Neither TikTok user @saerosmith nor JCPenney immediately responded to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.
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