Kyte Baby sparks outrage for rejecting mom's plea to work from hospital while taking care of premature son

DALLAS, TEXAS: Popular baby clothing brand Kyte Baby is facing backlash from social media users over their treatment of an employee. According to USA Today, the employee was not allowed to work from her premature son’s hospital where she needed to be to take care of him.

With the news spreading like wildfire, people from different social media platforms expressed their support for the employee and even called out Kyte Baby owner’s apology as insincere and fake.

Kyte Baby under fire for denying remote work to employee

USA Today reported that Kyte Baby is facing a customer boycott and a social media backlash after rejecting an employee’s plea to work remotely while she looked after her premature baby.

The employee, Marissa Hughes, and her husband Rawley had decided to adopt a child after having difficulties conceiving, which she informed Kyte Baby in October, according to a TikTok video by Hughes’ sister that went viral by Friday evening.

USA Today said Hughes got a NICU baby call in December. He was 22 weeks, 1 pound. They had GoFundMe for adoption fees.

The Hughes rushed to El Paso to meet their new baby, who was in a critical condition. Hughes told Kyte Baby that she would need time to nurse her new son, whom they named Judah.

USA Today said that Kyte Baby granted her two weeks of paid leave. Hughes then requested to work remotely from the NICU after that. However, Kyte Baby denied the request.

"Based on our maternity policy at the time, all parents, whether biological or non-biological, who worked for the company for at least six months, received two weeks of paid maternity time. We continue to apologize to both Marissa and our Kyte Baby community for how her maternity leave was handled," Kyte Baby CEO Ying Lui told USA Today on Friday.

Hughes, who had worked for Kyte Baby for seven months, asked the company to reconsider as she was nine hours away with a sick baby who the hospital said wouldn’t likely be discharged until March or April. Hughes’ sister said that the company told her that she would lose her job if she stayed at the hospital.

Kyte Baby apologizes to Marissa Hughes

Kyte Baby CEO Liu has since issued two video apologies on Thursday, the first one scripted and formal, which she admitted after receiving criticism.

Liu said in the first video, "We treat biological and non-biological parents equally. Through my personal and professional experiences, I have the utmost respect for babies, families, and the adoption community. As offered to her originally, we would find her a position whenever she decides to return to work."

In a second video, Liu admitted that the first apology “wasn’t sincere” and that she was now speaking from her heart.

Liu said the company was “insensitive and selfish” to insist that Hughes’ job couldn’t be done remotely. The company is “working diligently” to make policy changes so the situation doesn’t repeat itself, Lui told USA TODAY, adding that it will announce what those changes are by February 1.

Internet users slam Kyte Baby

A user shared Kyte Baby's CEO's apology video and wrote, "There is this company @KyteBaby who fired one of her employees bc she asked to work remotely so she could take care of her 22 weeks preemie baby who was in the NICU and the company fired her 🫠 even mocked that the baby was adopted and this “apology” is the fakest thing ever."

Another user wrote, "The creator of kyte baby is on the tock app panicking & apologizing as she should. Cuz when you play stupid games you win stupid prizes. How dare you as a woman and a mother, deny your employee the right to work remote after adopting a baby in the NICU?"

A user commented, "Currently watching @KyteBaby‘s reputation disintegrate in real time because they wouldn’t support an employee with a baby in the NICU."