Question about maternity leave

somethingscooking

Hi All,

This is my 1st pregnancy and I have a zillion questions. I currently work at a salon & spa in Northern NJ. I've been reading about Maternity leave/FMLA but am confused. Am I not eligible because my company has less than 50 people? Or does that not matter?

Also, if I am eligible am I entitled to 6 weeks or 12 weeks because of the NJ FMA? Are the extra 6 weeks paid out the same as the 1st 6 weeks?

 FYI- my medical insurance/benefits are through my husband's company which has way more than 50 employees.

I'm just a little confused about this and want to make sure we plan our finances accordingly. Any information would be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

collrob2101

page vicki on the nj nest board....she is in HR and knows a lot about fmla

carouselsoon

I'm new to this too, but I'll tell you what I know/have found out. FMLA is the federal law that allows you to take unpaid leave and come back to the same or a similar job. From what I have read, employers with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from this law. Some employers also cover all their employees with short-term disability insurance that allows you to get paid for some or all of your maternity leave. You should really check with your employer on their policy on maternity leave  -- better yet if you know of any other employees who have been in your situation check with them. Even though you have health insurance through your husband's company, that has nothing to do with FMLA, so the size of his company wouldn't impact your FMLA coverage.

I haven't done too much research on the new NJ law -- so definitely look into that.  Also do a search on this board - I think I saw some other discussions on the same topic.

Hope that helps! 

 

KHARTNEY

I work for a company with less than 50 employees. I was eligible for 6 weeks of temp disability and am now being paid 6 weeks of family leave insurance thru the state.     I had no idea that I was eligible for it and only learned about it when I received notification from the state of NJ.

https://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/fli/fliindex.html

meggot0926

I just got my last Family leave after disability check, so I just went through this.

You will get Disibility from the state of NJ 4 weeks before your scheduled due date.  After your delivery, you will also get 6 additional weeks.  If you have a C-Section(like I did) you will get a few extra weeks on top..(I got 4 extra weeks...for a total of 14 weeks).    They will send you a letter letting you know your determination.

Here's the link for the forms that you need to fill out, and also have you OB complete.   ALSO...FAX the forms in.  They get it immediateley, and saves you precious time, instead of mailing it...

https://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/forms_pdfs/tdi/WDS1.pdf    

After your disibility has expired, you can get up to 6 weeks of paid family leave(they call it Family Leave for Bonding w/ a newborn).  They just sent the forms to me automaticlly when my disability ended, but you may want to contact them though, just incase. 

Here's the form for that:

https://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/forms_pdfs/tdi/complete_fl1_R2-09.pdf

I only had 3 other co-workers, so that is not true for the business size. 

You can call the people at family leave/disability at 609-292-7060, they happen to be the only department that I have ever talked to that answers right away, and they are very nice and always answered my questions throughly.

Hope this helps!!  Best of luck!!!