Woman fired after missing shift due to miscarriage

Jessica Starwald.
Jessica Starwald. Photo credit: Jessica Starwald/Facebook

A woman who was fired when she failed to show up for work while suffering a miscarriage has rejected her former employer's apology.

Jessica Starwald was an employee at Glowgolf miniature golf course in New York, and due to work last Sunday, USA Today reports

But at 4am that morning, the 14-week pregnant mother-to-be took a turn for the worse. She was rushed to hospital where she underwent surgery, but the baby could not be saved. 

She texted her boss afterwards, saying she was unexpectedly "in surgery before I could call off today", and said she had a note from the hospital to prove it. 

The response from her manager was terse.

"You're fired due to your failure to communicate about your scheduled shift. Effective immediately. Please return the keys to the stores by Friday."

After she posted screenshots of the exchange to web forum Twitter, Glowgolf area manager Jeff Bennett posted on the company's Facebook page the manager who sent the text had been suspended and Starwald "officially reinstated".

But Starwald told USA Today she wouldn't be going back.

"I wouldn't want to work for a company who can't have a little compassion and sincerely apologise to me."

While she looks for another job, a GoFundMe crowdfunding page has been set up to help her get by, which as of Sunday had raised US$40. 

Newshub.