Maternity Leave at my work..

So, I found out that I am going to get paid for 2 weeks while Im on my maternity leave. Its better than nothing I figure. However, my boss seems to want me back asap and its looking like Ill only have 4 weeks off and I asked about possibly doing some work from home, and that didnt seem like a possibility. I don't think 4 weeks time off is much time. What do you ladies think?

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

I think 4 wks is unreasonable. Can you use FMLA?

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

I plan on returning to work PT after 4 weeks. It's gonna be hard but we gotta do what we gotta do. If you have to have a c-section I think you might need longer.

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

NY State considers your DISABLED for 6 weeks after a vaginal birth and 8 weeks after a c-section. You can not work when you are disabled and your boss can not make you come back to work when you are disabled!

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

My work does not qualify for the FMLA since we have under 50 employees (this is going by the state of FL) and I have not been here a year..which doesnt matter anyway since we don't qualify anyway for the FMLA. They seem to want me back asap and it worries me a little.

Here is the email she wrote me in regards to my leave:

"Family and Medical Leave
Under Florida law, private employers are not required to provide leave of any kind. The legislature concluded that these matters are best determined by the employer/employee contract. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), however, allows qualified employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to attend to family or medical matters, including birth or adoption of a child, care for an immediate family member, or care for the employee's own health. Both men and women are covered under the FMLA; thus, a father can take paternity leave.
To qualify under the FMLA, a worker must be a full-time employee of a company with at least 50 employees and have worked for the company for no less than 12 months. In addition, the employee must have worked at the company for at least 1250 hours during the preceding 12 months.
During an unpaid leave, an employer must maintain an employee's health benefits at the same level as prior to the leave. When the employee returns from a leave, the employee is entitled to the same position he or she held earlier. If the same position is not available, the employee must be placed in an equivalent position, with equivalent compensation, benefits, duties and responsibilities.

Due to your length of time employed here and the fact that ARA does not have 50 employees, you unfortunately do not qualify for FMLA. In discussing the issue with Jerry, we have agreed that you are a valuable part of the ARA team and if you feel like you plan to come back to work full-time after the baby is born, we are willing to give you two weeks of paid leave even though you already took your vacation time. Please let us know your intentions."

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

4 weeks does sound unreasonable and I'm sorry you are in this situation.

Maybe you can talk to your boss/employer some more about this and see if you can work out some kind of arrangement, like a gradual return to work (work at home/work in the office).

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

i find the disabled part interesting too.. not sure how that would work here...

My boss came into my office and she is like I dont know how many weeks you are planning on taking off and rattled off 3-4 weeks and my heart nearly fell to the floor and i was like.. oh, well I dont know what will happen, depends on a c section and how the birth goes. In my head, i was like WOW, 3-4 WEEKS!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? I was hoping 6-8 weeks! Im afraid that in her head she is thinking only 3-4 weeks...........

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

do you think this is a NY state type of deal with the vaginal disability? (sounds funny.. my vagina is disabled.. im going to tell my husband that after we have the baby lol... do i get a handicap parking decal for this one? jk..)

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

I would check out the FL Disability Laws and see what your rights are. Does your female boss have children? If so, did she take off 3-4 weeks? I think that amount of time is way too little and would be putting your health at risk!! Good luck!!

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

My boss had adopted a baby girl at birth.. so she was home.. and im sure it was only for a few weeks since she had no healing involved and straight bonding with her baby......so i think thats why she is thinking 3-4 weeks..

Im starting to think, i need to look further into this now as far as the disability thing.

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

I googled the Florida Maternity Disability Law... Here is what I found from laborlawtalk.com.

Florida does not have a disability plan such as one would find in New York. There is no requirement that an employer offer a short-term disability plan nor does the state have one. The only legislation that mandates leaves is through FMLA, which only covers larger employers and employees with at least one year of service.

Florida doesn't even have a disability benefit for others. The only benefit that a person can receive is the disability assistance provided through Social Security. It is available for eligible persons who are cannot work due to a permanent disability.

Florida's website says the following, re: pregnancy and unemployment:
If I resign from my job or leave due to my pregnancy, will I qualify for unemployment compensation benefits?
Generally, Unemployment benefits are only available to persons who are unemployed through no fault of their own, and are willing and able to work. Specific circumstances are analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Qualification is determined after the claim is filed and facts are gathered from the worker and former employer. Please check the following website for more information: http://www.floridajobs.org/unemployment/default.htm

I'm sorry sweetie!! Looks like you are between a rock and a hard place. I would talk to your bosses about staying out for at least 6 weeks so they know what page you're on...that is, if you plan on returning. Good luck!

Message edited 3/19/2008 11:54:48 AM.

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

thank you sooo much twinkletoes807.. i appreciate you googling this for me..

florida really stinks... i guess i cant get anything.. no disabled vaginas allowed.

As time approaches, I guess I would have to discuss it again or in fact, just wait til after the baby is born.. they cant force me to do anything I dont want to do and if I feel that at 4 weeks out that I can not return to work, I will talk to them and tell them I need more time and if they let me go, they let me go.. which i do NOT see happening at all...

Worse comes to worse, if at that time I become unemployed I have 5 years experience of working with children in public schools, after cares, daycares and even special needs children.. so I would get hired in a daycare right on the spot and I could bring my DD with me to work Im sure. Thats my backup plan.

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

And if they let you go... then I would suspect that unemployment may kick in!

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

I think you will find it really difficult to return to week after only 4 weeks. Honestly, you are still recovering at that time. Hope you can get something better worked out.

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

To me its just not enough time. At 4 weeks I was still feeling really yucky personally and was still trying to figure out this baby thing. At 6 weeks I was a little better but I wouldnt have been ready to leave him. At 8 weeks I felt more confident in his schedule and he was sleeping well. But truly I dont think I could have left him much before 12 weeks.

And truly thats not even enough.

I would do whatever I had to in order to get more time off after the baby.

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

I agree that 4 weeks would be tough. No, not impossible but really tough. You're still bleeding at that point & that's with a v-birth.

I would negotiate my time back since they seem to want you back so badly.

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

4 weeks is absurd. I think you would need at least 8 weeks to recover and bond with baby.

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

4 weeks def. sounded short and from reading everyone's responses, i def. know this is too short now... i have to figure this whole thing out with my job..ideally, i'd like to stay home for awhile... and bonding with the new baby is definitely a must.

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

Legally you are entitled to 12 weeks off for FMLA (unpaid leave). Disability for a vaginal birth is 6 weeks and c-section are 8 weeks. Disability and FMLA run concurrently.

Of you have been at your employer for less than one year or have worked less that 1250 hours then you are not entitled to FMLA.

I would ask them about that. Have you spoken to HR? Many times management does not know the formalities of empoyment law.

** I didn't read all of the posts but, if you loose your job then you should be entitled to unemployment. I would have to say that I am 4 weeks post pregnancy and there is nooooo way I could go back to work right now. I had a speedy recovery and I feel good and still couldn't go back. If this is your first child, I would gather that you will have a rougher recovery. With my first it took me five weeks to even leave my house alone.

Message edited 3/19/2008 8:39:43 PM.

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

I know at my job if I'm not there through mid April (which is my one year anniversary) then I would not get FMLA benefits. However, that being said, there is no way I'd return to work sooner than 12 weeks, but that's just me. I'm due in May and if all goes according to plan it won't be an issue, but God for bid I went early, I'd just go without pay. It would be tough financially, but I look at it as I'll never get that time back with my child. Jobs come and go.

I don't get why employers do this sort of thing even if they aren't "forced" by FMLA due to the size of the company. I mean what mother is going to really be focused on her job after having a baby 4 weeks before? I'd be thinking about the baby every minute. Wouldn't it be better to let the new mom adapt to her new transition/life and come back to work when her body is physcially more stable and she's in the emotional and mental groove of having a new child in her life? This is a major life change. I personally think 12 weeks is way too short and would love to extend that somehow. That's just my opinion. Everyone's different though.

Message edited 3/19/2008 8:46:31 PM.

Re: Maternity Leave at my work..

4 weeks is not a lot of time. I would think 6 weeks off is a minimum.