Possibility of losing Job

knottief7306b04b4d12f14

So this is a little bit of a special circumstance, I work at an insurance brokerage where it is just two of us here. I handle the insurance side and a large part of that is medicare. There is a period we consider our busy season, which runs from October 15th to Dec 7th. Just found out our suprise blessing is due the October 16th. I told my boss this and he did not take it well. He didn't say directly I will let you go but he did say he would have to hire a different employee for that time and he cannot do two employees, or he would have to retire before then and sell his business because he can't handle it alone. I'm a big girl so I can find and have had job offers with other companies in our area, but those offers were before finding out I was pregnant. (one offer was from a bank, the other offer was from another insurance agency). Now I'm not worried about legal rights etc. as if he retires then that is a very legitimate reason this position would end. Just not sure what to do and scared, and maybe mourning a bit about the loss of my hopes and dreams at this company. I've been working at almost a loss at this company doing hourly due to daycare costs hoping that once I went on commission, the financial position here would change. Just not sure what to do, and then I feel guilty for even being concerned about my job when bringing this little person into the world is the most important. Lots of uncertainty right now. Hoping maybe others in a similar position might have insight. Thanks!

britters314

Could you ask your boss if there is a possibility of him hiring a temp worker while you take an unpaid maternity leave? That way he wouldn’t be paying two employees at once.

Otherwise, definitely start looking for another job. Most jobs require you work there for a certain amount of time before you qualify for paid maternity leave and I believe FMLA also has a requirement about that, but before accepting an offer you can tell them you’d need some time off starting in mid-October.

kb0685

This is a tricky subject. If you go on leave, your boss is allowed to let you go *if* they get rid of your position, but if they do that then they can't turn around and hire someone for your position/title. 

As far as I know about FMLA (and my company only does the state's FMLA), you need to have worked a certain number of hours (in a job that also pays into FMLA) in the year before. Some companies don't pay into it if they offer their own leave packages. If your current job doesn't pay into FMLA, you won't qualify for FMLA at your next company OR you will only qualify for a partial leave.

knottie0258499cdbe1c7d1

Do you know of anyone who works in HR…anywhere? I always thought that legally you cannot get fired/lose a job while pregnant, regardless of the circumstances. It may be that you’re on leave without pay, but I am pretty sure that you legally cannot be fired. I would check your state laws as well. While they may not require you to be paid during leave, they might say something about this. And see if you can find someone who works in HR and see what they have to say, because they’ll have insight, even if they work in a completely different place.

kb0685

You can legally be let go during your leave IF the reasoning is that your employer has done away with your position. This means that they also can't legally hire someone for your position. It's really crappy, but it can happen and it happened to someone I know.