June 2016 Moms

FMLA

I'm going to go ahead and assume we are going to see this pop up in more and more threads. I just want to clarify that FMLA and paid maternity leave are completely different. FMLA- Family Medical Leave Act basically is a federal law that says you get 12 unpaid weeks of leave for your pregnancy/birth and you can come back to your same job at the same rate of pay. Paid maternity leave means you work for an awesome company that provides an extra benefit of continuing to pay you for your maternity leave. It is just a pet peeve be of mine when ppl use those phrases interchangeably (probably because I don't get any paid maternity leave from my company. I use vacation and sick and when I run out of that PTO I go back to work).

Re: FMLA

  • YES. Thank you.
  • Yes! Drives me nuts!
    DS 9/2/13 was a BFP from an IUI!
    Triplets due 6/29/16 also from an IUI!

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  • AND that you don't qualify for FMLA until you work at a company for 12 months... People seem to skip over that one a lot too..

    Now that one I didn't know!
  • Also, that utilizing state funded disability is NOT the same as having Maternity Leave/PTO. (I'm bitter, too).

    Probably depends on the state. In CA you get 6-8 wks partially paid as baby bonding time before your unpaid fmla starts.
    DD1: June '16 DD2: March ‘19 :::: Married since 2011 :::: USN Wife ::::
  • Thank you! People seem shocked that they don't get paid maternity leave everywhere. Only certain, awesome companies offer it but it is not required by law anywhere in the US. Yet an "oppressive" country like Pakistan offers 12 weeks of paid leave if I'm not mistaken. 
  • ahernandez16ahernandez16 member
    edited January 2016
    @meggyme Oh, I know. It's just not the same as having a maternity leave policy at your work -- or at least that's how my HR lady my boss had me talk to explained it. I don't qualify for FMLA but they told me "you don't have a maternity leave policy but you can file for state funded disability." I guess that could vary by state.

    Unless I totally misunderstood them....
  • @meggyme Oh, I know. It's just not the same as having a maternity leave policy at your work -- or at least that's how my HR lady my boss had me talk to explained it. I don't qualify for FMLA but they told me "you don't have a maternity leave policy but you can file for state funded disability." I guess that could vary by state.

    Unless I totally misunderstood them....

    You did not misunderstand- FMLA & disability are two different things. (I'm head of HR for my company)
    TTM - EDD 4/23 - Team Green <3 
  • CourtJack said:

    Whenever I see this acronym - in my head it stands for F@$k My Life Arghhhhhh!!!

    Ha! That's basically what it feels like trying to take time off after having a baby in the US...
  • Yes exactly! I work for a small company of under 50 people. They are not required to give me anything. That is why I applied for my own short term disability before I got pregnant so I can get time off when the baby comes with a portion of my income coming in. I also save vacation time to use to help out. People need to read their employee manuals.
  • CourtJackCourtJack member
    edited January 2016
    Whenever I see this acronym - in my head it stands for F@$k My Life Arghhhhhh!!!
    Ha! That's basically what it feels like trying to take time off after having a baby in the US...
    Exactly! (from what I hear)
  • And regarding short-term disability, some states don't offer it for maternity leave. Mine doesn't :( My family from other states keep saying, "well at least you'll get short-term disability". Nope, not here!
    Married July 2014
    DD born June 2016
    Second due August 2020 (team green!)
  • THANK YOU for posting this!!! Oh my gosh, the misunderstandings.
  • Really @samsonator that sucks. I hate all the different state rules
  • lalavglalavg member
    edited January 2016
    In CA you get state disability 4 weeks befor you due and 6 weeks after and when that runs out you can apply for paid family leave which gives you another 6 weeks partially paid so you can get in total 12 weeks partially paid and you can have fmla run simultaneously so your job protected too
  • Really!? @samsonator what is it for? In CA from my understanding it's basically any kind of medical condition that would keep you out of work and result in a loss of wages -- which includes recovery after giving birth. That sucks! 
  • @Liesvg and @ahernandez16 thank you for sharing that info about CA!!! I never would have known to apply!!!

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  • Liesvg said:

    In CA you get state disability 4 weeks befor you due and 6 weeks after and when that runs out you can apply for paid family leave which gives you another 6 weeks partially paid so you can get in total 12 weeks partially paid and you can have fmla run simultaneously so your job protected too

    California & New Jersey both do this (I believe they are the only state mandated programs)
    TTM - EDD 4/23 - Team Green <3 
  • In Florida I got...

    12 weeks unpaid FMLA job protection
    6 weeks short term disability with 60% pay

    The short term disability kicked in a week after I went on leave, so I had to use pto that week or have it unpaid. I also did not have to repay my benefits during that time, but I did have to work out a plan with HR to make the necessary contributions to my health insurance (DH & DS cost $200 extra a month and also my flex plan deduction).
  • @MsBeachNJ To expand on what you said, I believe the 50 employee rule references a number of employees within a 75 mile radius. My company employs over 50 employees but, since we have offices in other locations and each office is less then 50 people, I don't qualify.
  • I live in Texas and the state doesn't do anything for anyone with any time of disability unless you qualify for Social Security benefits. The company I work for will pay me for 2 weeks of my leave, plus any pto accrued, and allow me to take up to 12 weeks off. We have short term disability that we are able to pay for on our own through the company, however, the way it is paid out for maternity leave is different. If I were to get in an accident I would be eligible to collect 60% of my salary for up to 120 days, and 30% for up to a year thereafter. For maternity leave, it will pay me $100 a day, starting 2 weeks after the baby is born, but only up to 42 days postpartum, and the max pay out is $2800. I balled my eyes out when this was explained to me. It still makes zero sense.
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  • @sdLindenberg
    You also don't have to take the paid family leave all at once. You can split it up within a year.
    There are also more options to take time off but it will be unpaid but people can take up to almost 6 months off if they want. I researched it a lot so I'm prepared when I talk to HR about my leave.
  • malgal85malgal85 member
    edited January 2016
    I'm in CA too. My HR department explained to me that I can get a total of 4 months off through state disability, job protected and partially paid. We can also take unpaid family leave on top of that for 12 weeks (and not job protected) which I won't plan on for now.

    I was thrilled!! I had no idea I was able to take so much time, but now I'm confused with the other CA comments above?!

  • @malgal85 that sounds right. Between state disability and something called Paid Family Leave I think you do get a total of 4 months off.

    I haven't looked into the PFL as much because I didn't think I qualified but I think everyone does. I need to do some more research. I have a pamphlet with a website I can link to you. My boss mentioned that I had the option for a total of 4 months off through state funded programs so I'll definitely be looking into it more.
  • This applies to me...if your sick and use FMLA already...Remeber there is only 3 months total per a 12 months period. Some places restart the calendar year, mine was rolling. Nothing I can do about it, they took my position away.
  • MeganF08 said:
    @MsBeachNJ To expand on what you said, I believe the 50 employee rule references a number of employees within a 75 mile radius. My company employs over 50 employees but, since we have offices in other locations and each office is less then 50 people, I don't qualify.
    You are correct, its actually 50 employees within 75 miles of the "corporate headquarters" in order to qualify. 
    TTM - EDD 4/23 - Team Green <3 
  • @Liesvg I'm an independent contractor for my ice rink, and my sewing job is pseudo under-the-table, so I need whatever the state can give me. DHs job is more lenient and he's got almost months of sick leave/PTO that he can use, if he wants to. But his boss has already told him that he can take whatever time I need him home with me, then work from home for up to 6-8 weeks as long as he answers his phone and emails, and responds to call outs when he's not on daddy duty. Oh! And the boss man said this is only allowable as long as he gets to meet baby. Hah.

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  • Yep If you work retail, chances are you won't qualify. I worked for a nationwide chain and didn't get any type of leave because each place is considered different. Over 500 stores averaging 30-45 employees each and no law requiring leave. Lovely ole USA
  • @almostpriceless so you need to be in an accident bad enough for no work, but not harming to you or baby so you can get adequate time off. That really sucks.

    Threads like this make me happy to be a SAHM, and sad that women have to leave their babies so soon.


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  • @almostpriceless so you need to be in an accident bad enough for no work, but not harming to you or baby so you can get adequate time off. That really sucks.

    Threads like this make me happy to be a SAHM, and sad that women have to leave their babies so soon.

    I can take off the full 12 weeks, and honestly probably longer if I wanted to, but I won't get paid by my employer for more than 2 weeks, plus whatever PTO I have left. The worst part is that I signed up for the short term disability almost 2 years in advance because our account rep told me that I could use it for maternity leave.

    On the bright side, our HR department has also realized that they were mislead about the way the plan operates and has filed a complaint with state insurance watchdogs, whatever they are called here in Texas. The outcome they are hoping for is to have my premiums refunded, which would be nice, but won't happen before the baby is born. They are currently in search of a new plan, that isn't offering different terms for accidents vs family leave.

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  • Those commenting about short term disability, your work might offer it but the length of time it covers changes for birth vs other STD leaves. For example my job offers short term disability which includes 60% of my  salary. If I have a vaginal birth i get 6 weeks and if i have a c-section i have 8. If I take more time off it's unpaid, unless my job wants to throw some bones my way. But if I look at the policy it says like, 26 weeks!
  • My job makes us take sick time first then disability and fmla runs concurrently.

    As per HR.
  • Same here, FMLA runs concurrently with my sick time, but I can only use that for the doc. approved 6 or 8 weeks that I'm "sick" (aka recovering).  After that, it's vacation time and then nothing.  The US is dumb.
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