A 43-year-old woman has settled her lawsuit against an information technology company in which she alleged she was wrongfully fired in 2021 and falsely accused of abandoning her job. At the time, she was on medical leave as she and her double-transplant husband dealt with the coronavirus.
Jasleena Kaur’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against TPx Communications included allegations of discrimination, whistle-blower retaliation, harassment and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. On Wednesday, the attorneys told Judge Michael Shultz that the case was resolved, but no terms were disclosed.
In August 2023, the previous judge assigned to the case, Anne Richardson, granted a TPx motion to compel arbitration of Jaur’s case.
Kaur was hired as a customer care representative in 2003 and by 2011 she had been promoted to account management, according to the suit, which further stated that she earned multiple employment awards over time.
Kaur’s husband received heart and kidney transplants in 2017 at a UCLA hospital, where he remained for 41 days, the suit stated. She continued to work, even from her spouse’s hospital bedside, and she also attended company meetings during that time, the suit stated.
In September 2017, Kaur and one of her account managers closed the first large managed services deal for the company and received acknowledgment from former Gov. Pete Wilson, the suit stated.
But in July 2018, Kaur, along with several other employees, filed a state Labor Board dispute for unpaid commission which the workers won, a victory the plaintiff believes led to the company CEO retaliating by failing to promote her to a director-level role, the suit stated.
TPx was acquired by Siris Capital Group LLC in February 2020, the suit stated. Kaur attended a company meeting that month, then became ill with the coronavirus, the suit stated.
“After contracting COVID-19, she continued to work remotely, but was severely ill, as she was also asthmatic and bedridden as a result of the coronavirus,” according to the suit, which further stated that her spouse also was sickened with COVID-19 and was hospitalized.
Kaur’s symptoms severely worsened and she eventually acquired long-haul COVID-19, but she kept working, the suit stated.
Even when Kaur went on medical leave in January of 2021 and her doctor extended her time off through July of that year, she continued to receive calls from work, the suit stated.
A regional human resources manager told Kaur, “No one is supposed to be reaching out to you when you are on a medical leave of absence. It’s the law. And by them reaching out, it is considered partial harassment,” according to the suit.
But to Kaur’s “surprise and deep dismay,” the next communication she received from TPx was an April 2021 letter terminating her and accusing her of abandoning her job, the suit filed in April 2023 stated.
Kaur believed other TPx employees on medical leave at the same time also lost their jobs.
Can you give me the law firm representing. The same thing happened to me