{
  "id": 1544360,
  "title": "A St. Petersburg clothing brand fired an employee who missed work after her grandfather’s death, then accused her of orchestrating a harassment campaign",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/a-st-petersburg-clothing-brand-fired-an-employee-who-missed-work",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-17T19:12:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/08/17/a-st-petersburg-clothing-brand-fired-an-employee-who-missed-work-after-her-grandfather-s-death-then-accused-her-of-orchestrating-a-harassment-campaign"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Tamara, a former employee of St. Petersburg clothing brand OldBaby Shop, was fired after missing work following her grandfather's death, then accused of orchestrating a harassment campaign against the company. The brand's owners accused Tamara of inciting a smear campaign and claimed she was difficult to work with. However, Tamara's employer admitted that she had never been late or absent from work during her year-long tenure. On August 13, Tamara informed her employer that she would not be coming into work to help her mother arrange her grandfather's funeral. Despite being entitled to five days of bereavement leave, she only requested one day off, with her colleague swapping shifts for the remaining days. The brand's representatives questioned Tamara about her absence and accused her of prioritizing her mother over her work. The incident gained significant attention on social media, leading to public backlash against OldBaby Shop's owners.",
  "summary": "Tamara, an employee of the St. Petersburg clothing brand OldBaby Shop (also known as “Samost,” Russian for “Selfhood”), said on Threads that she was fired after missing work because of her grandfather’s death. Her thread went viral, drawing almost 7,000 likes and about 2,000 comments in two days. Her employer came under a barrage of criticism, and the brand’s owners then accused their former…",
  "key_points": [
    "St. Petersburg clothing brand OldBaby Shop fired employee Tamara.",
    "Tamara missed work after her grandfather's death, requested one day off.",
    "Brand accused Tamara of orchestrating harassment campaign against them."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}