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I Was Laid Off On Maternity Leave And Now I’m A Bit Lost On Next Steps.

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I worked as a Senior Workplace Experience Coordinator for a billion-dollar startup in Massachusetts. After announcing my pregnancy in March 2024, things became uncomfortable in the workplace. HR told me that I was the first hourly employee to go on maternity leave, and while many other people went on maternity leave they were all at the Director level or above and were already hybrid or remote. My manager often assigned me tasks unsuitable for someone eight months pregnant, like assignment me the task of clearing out a storage closet filled with 100+ paint cans to bring curbside, and waking up at 5 am to catch a train to be in office for a team meeting that prior to my pregnancy I was allowed to take at home and then commute in.

The company was vague about covering my role during my leave and didn’t share any information about who was going to be covering, but after I left on an unexpected medically required short term disability leave three weeks before my due date, they brought in a temp. They also skipped sending me the “baby swag” package given to other new parents which was a bit of a red flag to me.

In October, I saw my VP make a LinkedIn post for a nearly identical role at my office.There was also a series of promotions in the company. 2 of my WX counterparts in the European offices received promotions with a title boost to “senior workplace experience coordinator”, which was the title that I held. In my gut I did have a bad feeling about this and did a good job of documenting these posts.

A couple of weeks later, I was laid off in a “restructure,” which I don’t 100% believe since no one else in my team/department was let go. I was offered 6 weeks of severance which came out to about $7,900, and told I’d been overpaid by ~$8,000 which they would be willing to forgive if I signed the severance agreement. I consulted an employment lawyer, who believed I had a case but couldn’t confirm contingency terms before my severance deadline. Feeling pressured about health insurance and repayment, I signed the agreement.

Now, two months later, the company hasn’t paid the $7,900 severance owed. Should I follow up with HR to have them pay me what they owe, or could this breach give me grounds for legal action? Could I renegotiate for a higher settlement or take other steps? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

submitted by /u/232753
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