Has anyone communicated with their HR dept about maternity benefits yet? My manager suggested I do so (even though it's early, since we're having twins, you can never be too prepared!) and I contacted our benefits specialist yesterday. I work for a small company, and we normally have great benefits so I'm a little confused by their maternity leave policy and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions about moving forward (speaking with director of HR, etc).
So she explained we have two programs - FMLA (family leave) and STD (short term disability). FMLA protects one's job for a 12 week period, the STD protects a certain % of your wages. In our benefits booklet, it says STD is up to 13 weeks. So, wouldn't you assume that you're able to take the normal 3 month maternity leave with 60% pay? Nope. HR person said "you only get paid for 6 weeks. your doctor will have to have a phone discussion with our outsourced STD company for reasons why you may need to stay out longer, but normally you'd only get paid for 6 weeks." Oh, and by the way they consider C-sections and twins completely "normal." Haha - obviously a company run by men!
Anyway, long story short, I'm having a hard time believing that this is "standard." Do all women who use their short term disability (who have normal births w/ no complications) only get paid 60% of wages for 6 weeks and then just go unpaid for the remaining 6 weeks? With two babies on the way, I'm really concerned about losing that much money....but I also do not want to rush back to work after having them.....very confused. Anyone with any experience/suggestions welcome!
Re: Question about Maternity Leave (long, sorry!)
I know this varies from state to state but I live and NJ and sounds like our companies almost have the same policy. I just went over everything with my benefits department and was amazed how much it sucked.
I was explained the standard STD is 6 weeks paid (technically only 5 are actually paid we have a week grace period! WTF!) for a vaginal and c-section birth. Now I was explained if there was complications they review it as a case by case and can have up to 9 weeks (8 weeks paid). Then everything else is FMLA which is up to 12 weeks unpaid.
So I couldn't imagine going back to work after only 6 weeks. So we decided to do the 6 weeks paid STD and 6 weeks unpaid FMLA. I just wanted to share my experience with maternity leave and I am so stressed about looking 6 weeks pay but unfortunaltly in this counrty and in most companies this is the standard.
I accidently read the maternity leave for our company in the UK and they get up to 52 weeks paid at 100%! Seriously, noty fair!
Good luck sweetie I can't imagine how much more stressful this is with twins coming. ((HUGS))
Dx: PCOS, Anovulatory, Amenorrhea 2006
TTC: Sept 2008
IVF#1 Cancelled due to breast biopsy.05/01/20
IVF#1.2- 9/2010 - Cancelled Oversurpressed
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EDD 12/12/12>
Me too. Luckily I have enough accrued vacation leave to get paid the full 12 weeks, but then I'll be out of vacation/sick leave and will have to take leave without pay for any days off the rest of the year.
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You also have to pay attention to the waiting period - some policies don't start paying you until so much time after delivery. STD is only there to pay you for the time you are considered unable to work and "disabled", which is usually 6-8 weeks depending on how you deliver. I would think the only way you would be paid for 13 weeks would be if you had some other medical condition and your Dr said you were unable to work past the 6-8 weeks.
I would suggest you speak to the STD company instead of your HR. I've found, at least where I work, that HR doesn't know all of the details about that kind of stuff. After speaking to the STD company, we opted out of that coverage and just saved that money. The policy wasn't worth it for us.
___________________________________________________________________________
Trying for #1 since May 2010 l DX ~ Unexplained Infertility June 2011
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Trying for #2
FET #1 - October '13 - c/p l FET #2 - December '13 - cancelled l FET #2.2 - 1.30.14 - BFN
~ More testing - hysteroscopy, endometrial biopsy & more b/w - all normal / negative~
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DH-33 low count.
Not currently TTC.
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You won't get the STD for 12 weeks because your doctor is unlikely to write you out of work for longer than 6-8 weeks. You can only collect the STD if a doctor is saying you're disabled - and medically speaking, giving birth disables you for about 6 weeks. Some doctors will write you out longer if it's a c-section, or a complicated birth, but most won't. Then it's up to your employer for how you'll be paid -- and yes, most women on maternity leave at some point go unpaid.
Also -- you're lucky you can get 60% of your pay. Here we have to pay in to STD to get 60% of our pay, otherwise we just get the state mandated amount, which is something like $170/week. We've had a "maternity leave" fund since we started trying to get pregnant back in the day, because we knew there would be at least 4 weeks where I would lose my entire salary.
Hope that helps! It's good that you went and found out your employer's policy early - now you have some time to plan!
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Mine is the same way. And, it is actually an improvement, as they didn't always give us STD for pregnancy related issues. It is my understanding that those extra few weeks of STD may actually come in handy before you deliver, as bed rest isn't super uncommon in a twin pregnancy. It shouldn't make much of a difference once the babies are here. FWIW, all of the executive officers at my company are women and two of them delivered twins! So, I think you company's practices are fairly standard.
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In NJ teachers don't get disability so I had to buy my own Aflac plan. I get 6 weeks vaginal, 8 week c-section (also 60% of the salary of what i made when I signed up for the plan). paid FMLA also covers 60% but it's capped at 6 weeks and they already made me use some of it while i was on bed rest because I ran out of sick days.
My HR said that after the 6 weeks, many women get doctors notes to continue their disability period. Just because your delivery medical leave has ended doesn't mean that you aren't suffering from post-partum migraines, let's say. You can always extend medical leave but you must have a new diagnosis. If I have no medical reason to extend, I'd have to file for a child rearing leave and take it with no pay.
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It varies state by state. I am in California too. Our STD allows up to 4 weeks prior to the delivery, 6 weeks for vaginal (or 8 weeks for c-section) paid at approximately 55-60% of pay. Then the state will send you an application for Paid Family Leave for bonding with your baby for an additional 6 weeks of the same percentage of pay.
I am personally taking off a total of 5 months. I am working up until delivery and taking the Short Term Disability + Paid Family Leave + my 3 weeks of vacation + any necessary unpaid leave to get me to January 1st. Husbands are also allowed Paid Family Leave for up to 6 weeks to bond with their baby within the first year. My husband is taking part-time PFL after he is born and then another part of it around Christmas time.
TTC #2
In my company you're eligible for 6 weeks of STD for a vaginal birth, and 8 for a c-section, and even so the first week of that is not paid - so you really only get 5 weeks at 60% or 7 weeks at 60%. the rest of the time I was out I took LWOP/vacation.
That's extremely standard, and why a lot of folks are only out for 6 or 8 weeks.
I would say that 99% of STD policies work like yours. Generally they pay 6-weeks for maternity leave, many will pay up to 8 weeks for a c-section. Some have 1 or 2 week waiting periods and some don't. Most STD policies pay 60% of your pay, though some like mine will pay 100% of your pay.
For mine we get 12 weeks Federal FMLA, an additional 10 weeks State FMLA (for a total of up to 22 weeks off for leave). We also have an STD policy that will pay up to 22 weeks of STD pay. This doesn't mean that we can take 22 weeks of STD for everything that qualifies for STD. It means that we can get up to 22 weeks of STD for medical leave if needed, however most conditions do not require 22 weeks of leave and they generally have a set amount of leave time that allow for various conditions, including a set amount of time for maternity leave.
My company's STD policy will only pay us for 6 weeks of maternity leave (no waiting period). My policy does not allow for 8 weeks for a c-section.
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It varies from state to state. In Washington, companies aren't required to provide any short term disability. They are only required to provide FMLA (3 months unpaid) if you have worked at a company for more than a year, and the company has more than 50 employees. Anything else you get is bonus.
TTC #1 since 2009 with unexplained infertility
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thats a good question and I will have to dig further. I assumed that my STD covered 12 weeks.
I have FMLA also -- and will be using the 12 weeks to hold a job here. I do know that I will be using my sick leave and vacation time as well and those weeks of sick/vacation go a long with FMLA. In otherwords I get 12 weeks total. Not 12 weeks plus sick and vacation time.
I signed up for STD a while back and I do know it is 60% of your salary.
TTC #2 since June '08
~*DD 10.21.07*~
dx unexplained
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IVF#1 June 2011 BFN
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*PAIFW/SAIFW*
Sounds like that is pretty average. Here is what I have.
week 1- I use PTO/Vacation (this is a holding time before my STD kicks in and is required) at 100% pay
weeks 2-7 STD pays me at 90% of my salary. It will be weeks 2-9 if I have a c-section so 8 weeks for a c-section
weeks 8-16 - In Tennessee we gets 16 weeks of FMLA, not the standard 12, so I have to take PTO/vacay time if I want to get paid, if not I get leave but no pay.
Luckily I will have 120 hours of PTO saved up but need to save 40 for days LO may be sick so I will be taking a total of 10 weeks off paid and 2 unpaid. In those 2 unpaid we will be transisitioning into daycare so maybe on really 3 days no pay for 2 weeks.
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Emerson Lily 6 lbs 13 oz & Ellis Willow 6 lbs 9 oz
I talked to both my employers HR person and the short term disability company. I have STD through Aflac (which I pay for, my work doesn't have it's own STD). While my STD would be partial pay for 6 months (for injury or illness), for child birth it is 6 weeks (only 5 actually paid) for a vag birth and 8 weeks (only 7 paid) for a c-sec. There is a "waiting" week, so that's why it pays for 5/7 weeks, not 6/8. My work's policy is that I can use any and all sick/personal time as paid time off. The STD runs con-currently - so I will get my paid time off and the STD money at the same time.
I have saved about 30 days paid time off and then the 12 weeks of FML (unpaid) start. Some companies have FML and paid time off start at the same time, but my employer lets you use the paid time first and then start FML. So technically that would allow me to be off longer (18 weeks).
I am also pregnant with twins and that makes no difference. I thought it might as well, but it doesn't. The only thing that would be a difference was if I was put on bedrest prior to their birth - I could get paid from the regular STD portion of Aflac and then once the babies are born it would be the maternity benefit. I would just have to fill out seperate paperwork. Nothing would change with what my work allows though. Although, technically in addition to the FML I am elgible to take up to 4 semesters off and have my job held, we can't afford that - so it will just be my paid time off and then whatever unpaid FML I end up using. I plan to be written out of work at about 36 weeks (or sooner if needed) - so I will be off for about 16 weeks total - at least 14 or so with the babies.