Woman Sues Morris County Company, Says She Was Fired After Miscarriage

MORRISTOWN, NJ — A woman who worked for a Morristown company has filed a discrimination lawsuit against her former employer, claiming she was fired after not responding to emails and requesting time off to recover from a miscarriage.

The lawsuit was filed this week by a 36-year-old woman who worked as an attorney for chemicals company Arxada LLC, according to court documents. In the filing, her attorneys claim she was fired two weeks after her miscarriage and just days after expressing interest in taking medical leave to recover.

According to the lawsuit, the woman was fired due to a lack of responsiveness and not checking emails.

"This case concerns the most basic right of a female employee. ... Now, more than ever, working mothers should be empowered and encouraged to ask for accommodations in the workplace," the lawsuit states. "But when (the) plaintiff... became pregnant and suffered the unimaginable loss of her unborn child, (the) defendants could not have cared less."

According to the lawsuit, the woman learned she was pregnant with her second child in December 2023. Two months later, genetic testing revealed the baby had Trisomy 13, described as “a rare genetic condition that occurs when the 13th chromosome appears three times instead of two times in a person’s DNA."

According to court documents, Trisomy 13 poses an incredibly high risk of miscarriage due to heart problems and spinal cord abnormalities during fetal development. Babies born with Trisomy 13 have a median life expectancy of 7-10 days and 90 to 95 percent do not live past their first year of life.

A short time after receiving the diagnosis, an ultrasound failed to detect a heartbeat, meaning the baby had miscarried. The woman then underwent a surgical procedure to recover from the miscarriage.

According to the lawsuit, the woman's supervisor told her to "take all the time she needs" after learning of the miscarriage; however, the lawsuit claims her supervisor continued to "badger" the woman with emails while she was trying to recover.

According to court documents, the woman continued to work as much as she was physically able despite experiencing "one of the most traumatic events a mother could endure."

The lawsuit claims the woman did not want to ask for additional time off for fear of retaliation. She continued to work despite "extreme pain, sickness, and emotional anguish," according to the lawsuit. During this time, she missed two emails from her supervisor, court documents state.

According to the lawsuit, the woman was suddenly fired at the end of February 2023. During a termination meeting, the lawsuit claims the woman's supervisor told her that “people” had been complaining about her lack of responsiveness to emails and she was being fired immediately due to this terminated effective immediately due to this “egregious behavior.”

The lawsuit claims the woman was fired due to disparate treatment and discrimination in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.

The woman is suing for back pay, benefits and monetary damages. She is also seeking to be reinstated to her job.