Starting a New Job While Pregnant?

knottie_knottie1

Hi! Does anyone have experience starting a new job while pregnant? I had interviewed for a government job before I knew I was pregnant and just got the call yesterday that they're offering me the job. Because it's government they said the time period from when I'm offered the job to when I start will be between 45-60 days and I'm due in December. I haven't seen the benefits package yet, they will be emailing me all that information, but the best I can tell just from Googling searches is that I may be eligible for 8 weeks of paid family leave (my current job offers only 6 weeks). Also, if I take the job, I'll be making around  24% more than I do now.

With all that said, I'm still worried about any potential repercussions of telling a new employer I'm pregnant shortly after starting and potentially not being eligible for leave when the baby is born. 

ajp53

I may be wrong, but I don’t think employers can refuse to hire you or reprimand you for being pregnant. That’s discrimination. As for leave, what would happen if you got severely sick or in an accident? They’d have to give you time off, right? I don’t really know how all that stuff works, but I think if you worked with HR they’d be able to figure something out. I do think you should let them know sooner rather than later. Congratulations on the new job and the baby  

meggyme

You’d not necessarily be eligible for FMLA, but it’s likely cheaper to keep you on than train someone new. When you negotiate your salary is a good time to negotiate your maternity leave and get it in writing. I’d also check their short term disability insurance because many of them require a waiting period and might not cover your maternity leave. Your benefits coordinator should be able to answer these questions.

knottie_knottie1

Thanks! I'm still waiting to see the benefits package, but good to know I can negotiate maternity leave. And I know it's illegal to discriminate, but I've heard horror stories. Like one person I know was offered a job and then when she told them she was pregnant she was told that they still wanted to hire her, but asked her to stay with her current job and that they'd hire her after her maternity leave ended