ML nightmare - so now WTF do I do?

*sparky*

I think I have posted before about the craziness at my work and how difficult it has been to try to figure out my maternity leave.  Finally confirmed that I am not eligible for any paid leave, but that I am eligible for 12 weeks of FMLA and our FMLA is administered by the same company that administers STD.  It is all outsourced and my HR dept is of zero assistance.

So there is a multiple page form my OB has to fill out and he puts my period of leave as 12 weeks starting from my EDD.  A couple of weeks later, I get a response back from administrator that they approved me for 6 weeks of leave only.  Now remember, I don't get any STD, just FMLA, so the actual period of disability should be irrelevant.  So I call them and they say there is another claim I have to fill out for "baby bonding leave" and they will send more forms.  Only they haven't sent them.  I have called to follow up and still have not received them.

My HR dept just tells me I have to deal with this third party.  They can't screw me out of my FMLA but at this point I don't know what to do.  I am running out of time and really don't want to be dealing with this after giving birth.  I hate this job anyway so I really just want to be like screw it I'm not coming back, but that is my irrational, cranky PG side coming out.

So is there anything else I can do?  I am so extremely frustrated by this and getting no help at all.

*sparky*

No not in CA. There is no disability claim, just FMLA. And if it was just a matter of filling out the forms that would be fine but I can't even get them to send them to me. This has been going on for 2 months and at this point I could literally have this baby any day. I just don't know what to do.

ricekez

Is the company Hewitt, by chance? They handle my FMLA, and based in my experience last time, dealing with them requires a lot of phone calls and frustration.

They won't do anything about baby-bonding leave until your first 6 weeks are pretty much up. The whole process is weird and the people who administer it aren't helpful. I got lots of threatening letters telling me that I HAD to go back to work after 6 weeks leave with DS until they finally got the baby-bonding leave figured out and stopped sending their mean letters. Just know that you get 12 weeks and call them every time they say otherwise. Be very firm and direct.

sportsmomma

ricekez said:

Is the company Hewitt, by chance? They handle my FMLA, and based in my experience last time, dealing with them requires a lot of phone calls and frustration.

They won't do anything about baby-bonding leave until your first 6 weeks are pretty much up. The whole process is weird and the people who administer it aren't helpful. I got lots of threatening letters telling me that I HAD to go back to work after 6 weeks leave with DS until they finally got the baby-bonding leave figured out and stopped sending their mean letters. Just know that you get 12 weeks and call them every time they say otherwise. Be very firm and direct.

Exactly this. I've been meaning to speak with our Corporate HR about how much more difficult Hewitt made my leave this time.

Just keep on it and document, document, document. But like PP said, some of it may be necessary to handle after baby arrives.

ASmallWonder

My leave was handled similarly but I didn't have to have the paperwork in for the "extension" (i.e. the remaining 6 weeks after STD) until DURING my first 6 weeks of leave.

scruggsa

Sorry you have to go through this. It was stressfull enough just having my papers filled out and making sure everything was turned in on time. My work goes through The Hartford and they were great. They approved the whole 12 weeks of FMLA with one form. Not all 3rd parties are hard to deal with. I would definitely be persistent and give feedback to your employers.

*sparky*

Not Hewitt but Aetna. Thanks everyone - I guess it helps a little to know I am not the only one who has gone through this. It should not be his difficult! I will call them again on Monday to see if I can get a little help.

CarrieB.

lol, I'm glad I'm not the only one who ran into issues w my ML w Hewitt. They messed up so many things, it was rediculous.

*sparky*

Ugh - it really should not be so hard. I am really worried my pay will get screwed up too since they will take me off the payroll and then put me back on. My pay has been changed twice - from PT to FT and then again back to PT - and both times it took several weeks for them to pay me correctly.

DiveFrog

Consider yourself lucky if you can get any of the paperwork and any kind of confirmation done prior to giving birth.

I called 6-8weeks before my EDD to request paperwork for STD and FLMA and they wouldn't send it out until 2weeks before my EDD. They told me that I had to call back and make the request then. So, of course I end up having DD 5weeks before EDD and have to spend more than an hour on the phone from my hospital bed after an unplanned C-section juggling my crying newborn and answering all the administrators questions to file paperwork. It was ridiculous.

Puppies+Rainbows+Unicorns

Have you contacted your insurance?  My healthcare provider (Kaiser) had all of the paperwork and assisted me with the process.

*sparky*

@DiveFrog - Actually I finally got someone to talk to me today, and that is basically what I have to do with this baby bonding leave.  They will not do anything else until they know my actual date of delivery, at which time I have to call them and they will kick off the process for the baby bonding part of my leave.  I have two weeks from the birth date to get all of that paperwork in to them so they can file my claim.

@Puppies+Rainbows+Unicorns - I do not have health insurance through my company as I am not eligible for benefits here.  That is why I don't any STD.  So my insurance company (which is through DH's employer) has nothing to do with this.  The forms have to come from this 3rd party administrator.

ss+el

I feel so bad for you. We use Sedgwick and they were awesome to work with during my ML as well as a prior medical leave. They didn't really want anything to do with me until 2wks before my due date, which had me a little worried, but I remembered how smooth the process had been for my prior leave, which was an emergency and not planned.

I don't understand why FMLA paperwork is outsourced. Is it really that complicated? (I have never had to fill out separate FMLA paperwork though I have heard my company now requires it. Not sure if they process it themselves or it goes to Sedgwick).

*sparky*

I really don't understand why the outsource it either. If I am not getting paid all they need to know is when I have the baby, take me off of payroll, count out twelve weeks in the calendar and that is when I have to return to work and start getting paid again. But our HR group outsources everything, which is the reason they are of no help with questions, etc. they don't need to worry about how anything works because another company handles it.

chicagobride_07

Hartford administered my STD and they were good to work with. I saw that they also had an option to administer FMLA (my company did not subscribe) and wondered how that worked. It seems as though as long as you might the requirements, you get the 12 weeks. I know I am missing something but I don't see what has to be administered, per se. My HR just told me, yes, you are eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA and that was it.

rubber_chicken

Are you eligible for short term disability?  We outsource our ML stuff too, and they originally put me down as being out for only six weeks because of the short term disability.  I had to contact them after I went on leave and tell them I was taking the full 12 weeks FMLA. 

They were a beast to work with.

*sparky*

rubber_chicken said:

Are you eligible for short term disability?  We outsource our ML stuff too, and they originally put me down as being out for only six weeks because of the short term disability.  I had to contact them after I went on leave and tell them I was taking the full 12 weeks FMLA. 

They were a beast to work with.

 

No - that is what is so stupid about this whole thing.  I am a PT employee and therefore not eligible for disability.  But the same company we outsourse our disability to handles our FMLA. 

 

All my employer really has to do is take me off of payroll for twelve weeks - they know I am having a baby, and they know I am eligible for FMLA.  But I have to fill out all of these forms, deal with this 3rd party, etc.  All to NOT get paid for 12 weeks.  It is so annoying.