NYC DOE girls...maternity leave question

Those of you who work for the DOE and are familiar with maternity leave and FMLA, I need your opinion and help.

My EDD is July 24th. It will be right smack in the middle of the summer so do I need to take maternity leave? Also, I want to file for FMLA. Will that start when the baby is born or at the beginning of September when school starts?

I appreciate any information you ladies have. TIA!

Re: NYC DOE girls...maternity leave question

Are you a teacher or do you have a different postiion in your school?

For teachers, the policy is as follows...

Maternity leave begins on the day you deliver, regardless of whether school is in session. You have 6 weeks for vaginal delivery (8 weeks for CS). You will not lose days from your CAR for the days when school is not in session. If the beginning of the school year is still within your 6 or 8 week maternity leave, then you will lose 1 day from your CAR for any school day missed during the reaminder of your maternity leave allowance. Once you get to the end of your 6 or 8 week maternity leave, FMLA kicks in..... now here is where it gets a little tricky....

As a teacher, since you are not required to work summer, your FMLA will begin on the first day you are scheduled to return to work. If you are still within your maternity leave timeframe, you will continue getting paid till the end of your maternity leave. At the end of your maternity leave, you will go off of payroll for the remainder of the 12 weeks. (i.e., if the first day of school is 7 weeks after you deliver and you had a CS, you will lose 1 week's worth of school days from your CAR, not counting any days school is not in session (ex: labor day, Jewish holidays). After the end of the 8th week, you will still have 11 weeks of FMLA which you will receive unpaid.

I hope that made sense.... if you have any questions, let me know.

If you are on a 12 month contract with the DOE (as I am) the rules are different.... I delivered over the summer and my FMLA began on the day I delivered. A teacher in my school delivered over the summer, several weeks BEFORE me and returned to school A MONTH after I did because her FMLA started on the fist day of school!

Message edited 12/15/2010 11:03:50 AM.

Re: NYC DOE girls...maternity leave question

Yes, you need to file for FMLA if you want the baby on your insurance and want to take 12 weeks off after birth. The days in your CAR won't get depleted unless school officially starts within 30 days/6 weeks of the birth.