Planning for Maternity Leave / Dealing with Glass Ceiling

ajhamb

After just getting off the phone with the HR at my company (a top-of-the-list Fortune 500 company) about my maternity leave options, I am feeling a little sick. Maybe I have been deluding myself into thinking ladies have come a long way in the workplace, but BOY maternity leave policies in the US stink!

As the anchor salary in my house, we can't afford to do without my salary for too long and I don't have grandparents nearby to help take care of a small child. So what are women to do? Alternatives seem to be:

1) Suck it up and go back to work as soon as possible

2) Lose out on pay and stay home

Awesome.

A friend recently sent me The Economist's glass ceiling index for other women-in-the-workplace related issues, and the US stinks all around (https://www.economist.com/news/business/21598669-bestand-worstplaces-be-working-woman-glass-ceiling-index). 

Depressed and annoyed...

Lizarella82

We don't have "maternity leave", and FMLA doesn't apply to our company since we are so small. I can apply for short term disability during which time I do not get paid and do not get paid holidays, save all the paid time off I can while still going to all my pre-natal appointments, and pray. Absolutely ridiculous.

ETA: we're saving money as well. Still stressful as hell. 

dawnangela79

Be sure to check out your state's disability policies. There is usually a short term disability available, and sometimes even a paid family leave through the state....in California it can be up to 18-20 weeks!

rainydayluck

I have no maternity leave options, just FMLA. Do you not have PTO accrued that can be used toward it? Do you get actual maternity leave, cause that's pretty sweet if you do.

spinsemeyer

We're in the same position. I get no paid maternity leave (just short term disability for max 4 weeks and it caps at less than 50% of my salary), husband gets no paid leave. I'm the breadwinner. We're hoping to save enough that I can stay home 6 weeks and then he can stay home 6 weeks, but lately our home/cars/health issues have created money pits so it might be only 6 weeks total.

saraapuzzo24

I get four weeks before and eight weeks after. Six of which is partial pay. And I'm also taking additional 12 weeks thru the state unpaid. But we've been saving.

bf43005

My company doesn't have paid Maternity Leave either.  And in the US most of what's out there (if you work for a larger company) only secures your job for when/if you come back.  As far as salary I think you get something crazy like 50% if you do Short Term Disability.  I'm trying to hoard vacation time to help. 

coffee89

Where I was working I wouldn't have even had to option for FMLA or disability. I would have had to of quit and then reapplied and get rehired if I wanted to continue with the company.

My husband fortunately gets 4 weeks paid (but is expected to get either some work done at home or come to the office once a week). He works for a company of 5 with only one woman and she's the only one who didn't see why anyone needed a month off, mother or father.

emy730

I only qualify for FMLA, so no paid maternity option here either. It sucks.

Valancyy

When I worked we got 26 weeks of FMLA.  I got 6 weeks paid 100% (but I had to use one week of PTO for the first week).  I took the whole 6 months off, but most all of that was unpaid.  We had saved up money for me to take all that time, I did it with both kids.  This time around I'm a SAHM.

I think it is ridiculous that we are the only developed country that has pretty much no maternity leave for women.  Even going back to work at 6 weeks is crazy, a 6 week old is so little!  Plus, if you're breastfeeding, it just makes it so much more difficult.  I get mad when I see what other countries offer. 

Dharmatron

bunny0711 said:

I can take a total of 12 weeks off through FMLA (can start two weeks before birth but I'm working up until). Through short term disability at my work I get paid 70% of my salary for 6 weeks (vaginal) or 8 weeks (c-section). The rest can be covered through vacation time or go unpaid. I just wish I had more time!

My company has the same arrangement. This is what I'm planning to do too. My husband works for a very small company that does not qualify for FMLA. He can use his 7 days per year of PTO and work from home a few days a week.

ADC1979

Yeah, I wish I had thought to see what my work's maternity policy was before I got pregnant, but too late for that now.  I'm lucky I can use the 12 weeks of FMLA, but that will eat up all my vacation, sick, and comp time.  I'm keeping a ridiculously complicated (well, to me anyway, lol) spreadsheet detailing how much time I'm projected to have for my maternity leave so I can see how much I'll be eating in docked time at the end.  

It's pretty disheartening.  When I asked about where I could pump, my manager suggested our supply closet (after running down the list of places like the bathroom, electrical closet, etc.)  I know it's rough because our building is 30 year old public building with almost NO private spaces, but still...ugh.  I get willies at the thought of staff walking in on me pumping so they can get office supplies.

marathonmommy82

I'm a government attorney, and I don't get "maternity leave." I can use my PTO and will use almost all of it --- sick, personal, annual --- while I'm out for 12 weeks. (at least I get a lot of leave so I won't use ALL of it while I'm out)

ConversationFear

I will be taking 12 weeks off. My employer pays 1 paid week as a "gift." I will have 2 weeks of vacation saved up after that. The remaining 9 weeks will be FMLA, but I have been squirreling away $$$ based on what my salary for 9-10 weeks would be, so we won't be without it. It sucks that businesses can't offer a little more, but it is what it is, I guess.

JSS1002

ADC1979 said:

It's pretty disheartening.  When I asked about where I could pump, my manager suggested our supply closet (after running down the list of places like the bathroom, electrical closet, etc.)  I know it's rough because our building is 30 year old public building with almost NO private spaces, but still...ugh.  I get willies at the thought of staff walking in on me pumping so they can get office supplies.

I believe they are legally required to create a place for you to pump and give you breaks to do so for up to a year, post birth, as a requirement of the affordable care act.

I feel very fortunate.  I work for a huge company - I get 8 weeks paid (i'm having a c/s - it would have been 6 weeks otherwise), and then can take additional time under FMLA (unpaid).  If I want to throw my PTO at those unpaid weeks, I can do so.  Last time I took a total of 4 months... 2 weeks before baby was due (I was on bedrest) and then 3.5 after he was born.  

Ceridwen21

I seriously don't understand how American women (and men, for that matter) tolerate the lack of a national maternity leave policy.  Even 8 weeks is pretty awful, in my humble Canadian opinion.

nickielachickie

I forget where I read the article (time?) but some employers don't bring up the offer of part-time work or some sort of hybrid work situation where you go back part time after 6 weeks if you get 12 weeks of and you work part time until you have accrued the hours of time off to account for the 12 week off (sorry that was confusing, basically if you get x hours off if you translate 12 weeks into hours, and  you can spread those x hours over a longer time period by working part time)

Anyway, the point was that women don't ask about part-time opportunities or working part time and then going back to full time or spreading hours into the weekend or squeezing hours into a 4 day work week.  And because they are never asked about alternative hours, they don't offer it not knowing if they are interested.

Try to show what a great asset you are until the due date and hopefully they'll be willing to work with you.

Justabean3

Make sure you check insurance coverage as well. If you go leave without pay you will probably have to pay your employer the insurance fees.

kimberlymacrae

Justabean3 said:

Make sure you check insurance coverage as well. If you go leave without pay you will probably have to pay your employer the insurance fees.

Great point.

JAB829

I have FMLA at my job. It gets a little confusing....I guess if the FMLA is due to child birth, you can choose to take 2 weeks or 6 weeks unpaid at the beginning. But I can't afford to go that long without pay, so I'll be using my sick and vacation time. Right now I'm at the max of 192 sick hours (so 24 days I believe). I'll also have 2 floating holidays (so an additional 16 hours/2 days), and right now I'm at about 77 hours of vacation time + whatever I accrue between now and when the baby is born. After the 1st 30 days off I will qualify for short term disability. But that only covers the time that I'm physically unable to work (for a normal vaginal birth, that would cover me for weeks 5 and 6 of my leave, likely also weeks 7 and 8 for a C-section). That's paid at 60% of my pay. Then I go back to whatever vacation/sick time I have left. I put in to take the full 12 weeks that FMLA allows, but may end up only taking about 10 weeks (the time I'm expecting to be able to be paid for). Unfortunately I then wipe out all my sick and vacation time and have to hope I don't need it until I have time to accrue it again! My husband doesn't really get anything at his job. He'll just use some of his vacation time. We haven't really discussed it, but I'm guessing he'll only take a week off, maybe 2....we'll see.

nolagal79

Yep, the US is behind, way behind, on this. It's absolutely disgusting.

My company only does FMLA. They offer STD that caps out at 50% for 6weeks max - only if you don't have PTO to cover those six weeks. They drain ALL of your PTO (they pay it out to you) so when you go back you have nothing.

I had my daughter in January. My PTO is renewed in Feb. They drained all of it so I have exactly zero paid time off until next Feb. Sucks big time.

caballablanca

Mine and DH's companies are actually pretty good about maternity leave. I get 12 weeks paid (I'm in sales so no commission, just my base salary). DH gets a month paid off and he has the option to work from home some days. My English relatives were shocked that I had to work up to my due date since they get the month before off.

ChrisB

Wow, I feel badly for you ladies! We are very lucky in Canada. We get 50 weeks paid at 55% of our regular salary. We can take time off before the baby is born but that is considered part of our 50 weeks. If a doctor provides a note before the birth, we can use our Short Term Disability. Fingers crossed you will eventually get this in the US!

FrodaBaggins

My company is very generously giving me 6 weeks off fully paid (8 if C-section) and I'll be using a combo of sick/vacation time and unpaid leave for the remaining 6 weeks. But I have also heard of a thing here in California called Paid Family Leave that I'm looking into. If I can do that for the other six weeks I'd rather save my vacay and sick days! 

I think that the US absolutely needs to catch up with the rest of the world especially Canada, my home country.