Her Daughter Was Diagnosed With Cancer. Her Corporate Employer Asked Her To Resign.

inding a Fortune 500 company that appreciates work-life balance is a challenge in corporate America, and Jennifer Spangenthal was sure that she had found one — right until her daughter was diagnosed with cancer.

Spangenthal, a New Jersey mother of two, who identifies as an Orthodox Jew, was drawn to a career in human resources because she wanted the opportunity to “provide flexibility to other people and help them navigate their lives,” she told the Forward. In 2014, she began working for the consumer goods company Unilever, which owns brands including Lipton, Hellmann’s and Suave. There, Spangenthal was tasked with helping to re-design the company’s family leave policy. She hoped her family could personally benefit from the company’s seemingly flexible strategy, as well as help other employees. “I thought I might have found the role that would help me achieve this elusive work-life balance, given their renown for family-friendly work policies,” she said.

But just as she returned from maternity leave following the birth of her son JJ, Spangenthal and her husband David heard four words that are every parents’ nightmare: “Your child has cancer.” Their three-year-old Sophie was fighting for her life, with a diagnosis of pleuropulmonary blastoma, a rare form of cancer that occurs in the lungs.

Read more: https://forward.com/life/418771/her-daughter-was-diagnosed-with-cancer-her-fortune-500-boss-asked-her-to/

If she wasn't off for 12 weeks, the company broke the law, yes?

Other than that, the suggestion that people are just numbers at work isn't exactly an amazing revelation. Most people already know that. The work has to be done, and employers can lose out if someone is off for a long time.