Chelsea Walsh prematurely gave birth after firm rejected work from home request in 2021 amid high-risk pregnancy
An Ohio freight-brokerage firm must pay $22.5m in damages to a woman whom the company denied permission to work from home as she tried managing pregnancy complications – and then endured her newborn’s death after prematurely giving birth, a state court jury has decided.
The case centering on Chelsea Walsh, her late daughter Magnolia, and Total Quality Logistics (TQL) unfolded as many employers increasingly allowed remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic – but then pushed to get workers physically back into the office.
Matthew C Metzger, an attorney for Walsh’s family, said in a statement that the sizable verdict handed up on Wednesday in favor of his client came only after TQL passed up “multiple opportunities to resolve this … for far, far less”. Metzger’s statement added: “We wish those opportunities had been taken seriously.”
Ohio’s Cincinnati Enquirer, meanwhile, reported a statement from TQL spokesperson Julia Daugherty that expressed “condolences to the Walsh family” while expressing disagreement “with the verdict and the way the facts were characterized” when the case was tried over seven days. “We are evaluating legal options and remain committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of our employees,” Daugherty’s statement also said.
