Bedrest Question

kelandchris

I have recently been put on bedrest and will continue to be on bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy.  I am lucky in that I am a teacher so these past few weeks I have been off.  However my contract starts again next week.  How does bedrest work in regards to FMLA.  Will it count against my 12 weeks that I get off for the birth of a child?  I have contacted my HR and haven't heard back.  I know some of your ladies have been on bedrest for extended period of times and might have some insight.  TIA

JennlovesAustin

I asked my HR department and they said that bedrest DOES count against FMLA.  However, it doesn't count against still being able to have STD leave (6 wks for vaginal, 8 wks for c-section).  So, however long you are on before the delivery will take away from the 12 week total, but I am still guaranteed the 6 weeks.

Caitlin & Sean

i am also on bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy and yes FMLA does count bed rest against your 12 weeks but you still get 6 to 8 weeks after . WHat  type of bed rest are you on. I am on Mod so i can lesve the house for a short amount of time every few days but besides that i am at home on the couch or in my bed. It is going to be a long 10 weeks.( i will be having a csection early)

Kadyra

If you did not sign up for short term disability prior to your pregnancy, you may not be eligible for it now.  However, I'd also check with your company about personal medical leave, which is different than FMLA.  I am having to use that once my FMLA is up.  It, unfortunately, is unpaid for me.

g_belle

just to clarify quickly:  FMLA, short term disability and personal medical leave are all very different things. 

FMLA is 12 weeks of job protection that is mandated by the government.  Assuming that you qualify (have worked longer than 1 year at full time and your employer has more than 50 employees) you have those 12 weeks to use in a year.  It doesn't matter if you use them before or after the baby arrives (unfortunately) but once the 12 weeks are up- your job doesn't have to hold your spot.  Your state may have a more generous law that allows for additional time- but that's the basics.  I"m not sure how a school works this with summers off or when they will start counting your 12 weeks.  

Short term disability is insurance.  Your job may/may not provide it for you but you usually have to be on a plan for 10+ months before you can collect any payments.

Personal medical leave varies from company to company.  It's awesome when companies provide it- but they don't have to.  

Your HR department is going to be your best bet to answer your questions.  Since there is so much variety from state to state and many companies have more generous plans than what's required- you're going to get tons of answers from here.  

Hope that helps.  I know it sucks to burn through the time on bedrest instead of when LO arrives.  I'm in the same boat.....

jec2006

To add to PP, be sure to read your STD plan document, as you may be eligible now (our plan goes into effect immediately with no waiting period), and be sure to check with HR: there may be circumstances where you can apply for additional STD payments if you are on bedrest and can't work that are separate from your maternity leave STD payments.

At my company, you are limited to 13 weeks of STD leave per incident (including bedrest for a pregnancy and the recovery time afterward).  However, once those 13 weeks are up, if you elected long term disability (LTD) coverage, then that coverage would kick in for salary replacement.  As mentioned in PP, this is completely separate from FMLA, but hopefully, your employer will try to assist you and hold your job for you as long as it doesn't cause undue hardship.

Take care of yourself!

Rachel Bennett

Okay with me, I am on disability and with where I work at I have worked 1250 hours and was employed for one year, but did not work a full year I was out in January and my one year was in May. Anyways I do not qualify for FMLA leave at all, but under disability as long as it keeps getting approved I will have 5-6 weeks of safety after baby is here.