Mother Says Employer Initially Refused To Hire Her Back After Taking Time Off To Care For Dying Baby

CANOGA PARK (CBSLA.com) — A grieving mother says after she took time away from her job to care for her terminally ill baby, her employer initially refused to hire her back.

As Janeth Hurtado explains, when her baby girl Zoey was born last fall with a life-threatening illness called biliary atresia, she was determined to spend every moment by her side.

"In the beginning, they told us she probably had a 20 percent chance of survival," she said.

After her maternity leave was up in January, Hurtado told her employer, SusieCakes in Calabasas, she was going to put her career as a pastry chef on hold.

California law allows someone caring for a sick child to take 12 weeks off work, unpaid, without losing their job.

"There was no way I could just leave her at the hospital," Hurtado said.

When those 12 weeks were up, SusieCakes emailed Hurtado and asked if she would return to work in a few days.

Hurtado responded back that she had to continue to care for her fragile baby, and wanted to return to work when she was better.

The vice president of Human Resources wrote back that she understood and "Please reapply when the time is right."

Hurtado assumed that meant she could have her job back.

"That my SusieCakes' family would be there when I was ready to go back," she said.

One month ago, at 7 months old, Zoey passed away.

"I truly believed that we loved her enough that she wouldn't die," she said.

On Tuesday, the grieving mother decided it would be good to get back to work but when she reapplied for her old job, which is listed as "Open" on the bakery's website, she says she was told she wasn't welcome back.

"I was heartbroken," she said. "I really felt betrayed."

Attorney Dan Stormer specializes in employment law. He says while SusieCakes wasn't required to hold Hurtado's job, courts have ruled that, in instances like this, they should have hired her back.

"If it doesn't present an undue hardship for the employer - that is if there is an open position and it's essentially the same position - the employer has an obligation to allow the employee to return," he said.

Late Wednesday, after CBS2 contacted SusieCakes for comment, they sent the station a statement from the owner of the chain saying that Hurtado is welcome to rejoin the team.

Hurtado got a similar email but says she is taking time to weigh her options.

For more information on Zoey and her family, click here. To access a GoFundMe page, click here.