FMLA and disability rant

thatgirlree24

So I go back to work next week and finally my case for NYS disability is pending because they were waiting on physician letter and work verification letter. Meanwhile I called them in December to set up the case and kept calling them to check the status. I feel like it's unfair that I worked my ass off last year and only get 60% of my pay and the company that pays me doesn't even pay me in full because NYS has disability insurance as well. It's like when u only pick part A Medicare and not B and then they estimate what part B would have paid. It's total BS. I knew I was going to be taking 6 weeks paid and 6 weeks unpaid but holy shit they don't tell you that you'll only be getting less than $1000 dollars!!! I'm so mad. How can I pay my bills with less than $1000?

Yes I know I go back to work and soon I'll be bringing in more income but totally not the point. They should honestly pay you what you made for the 6 weeks you're out but like everything else the government always finds a way to screw people out of their hard earned money! Anyone else have this problem?

Bombmom3

I love this country but our maternity leave practices are deplorable.  I'm sorry you're being shorted like that.  

parkerhouse

Do you have the option to supplement the disability with your sick leave balances from work? I know it depends on the state and employer, but I was able to supplement with my leave balances so that I was getting my full pay. I agree it sucks that we aren't compensated fully by disability, but it may be worth looking into?

My husbands job doesn't allow the supplementing and therefore he only took the three days (!!!!!) of paternity leave that they allow rather than the fmla because we couldn't pay our mortgage without his income. Sucks!

thatgirlree24

@parkerhouseYes we are supposed to use PTO as well but I had none left by the time I gave birth.

westphilly

You're lucky you get paid!  In PA we don't have state disability and my company doesn't pay either. I can take my regular paid time off and everything after that is unpaid leave. That's the way it works here!  I cried when I found out that my company doesn't even have short term disability insurance. 

thatgirlree24

What?! That's crazy! I'm sorry to hear that @pittstown13. 

NellieHarringtonCarter

I am in the sort of same boat. I took 7 weeks, but only had 1.5 weeks of PTO left, and was only paid 4 weeks of STD at 50% my salary. Plus my husband JUST started working again in January, so we didn't have his income for a while. Got paid $1900 that I have to pay for 5 weeks of health insurance, a mortgage, medical deductibles, and everything else out of. Started working again last week, but won't get paid for another pay period. 

It's so scary! Good luck!

preggoandglowing

Yes maternity leave totally sucks compared to other developed countries. I'm at least lucky to be in Calif. I'm using my sick & vacation time to supplement and I've actually been getting a bit more than what I usually make. I still have 9 weeks of maternity leave remaining but I'm going unpaid at some point next month. Also, I would suggest disability insurance for any of you planning on having another baby. I got it through Allstate before I got pregnant and was able to make a claim for my pregnancy. This extra money is what allowed me to take the extra unpaid time off. 

BostonBaby1

Are you kidding? Do you have any idea how many people on here get zero maternity leave pay??? FMLA only applies to companies with 50 or more employees. Many states offer less than that and absolutely none for companies with fewer than six.

people who are independent contractors get $0. People who have their own businesses get $0 and often can't even take off more than a couple of weeks.

thatgirlree24

I'm truly sorry for those who don't get maternity leave but when the state law says you can and you get less than what you make in a pay period, damn right I'm gonna pitch a fit about it.

ETA: I'm not privy with all the state laws and asked if anyone else was going thru this. Not intended to make others upset either

lbaird123

Any type of short term disability only pays 60% of your usual income. It however is not taxable bc it's a paid benefit. Yeah it sucks but that's how it works. Better than nothing at all.