Anyone else only taking 6 wks maternity leave?

ShannonLK

I was planning to take 8 weeks off, but after looking at our finances (and the fact that all my time is unpaid) I'm only going to be able to take 6 weeks.  I'm not even sure if I'll have a job to come back to because we are getting ready to head into our slow period and last year this time they had to lay people off.  So, it looks like while I'm on maternity leave I'll be job hunting too. 

I am so bummed!

Kat28655

Me! I posted about this yesterday. It makes me sad just to think about it. I took 10 weeks with DD and that didn't seem like enough. I don't know HOW I'm going to part with baby at 6 weeks!!

kate&patrick

me...  we can't afford for me to take more time off 

MelonieK

I'm just hoping I can take six weeks.  They haven't told me whether or not I'll get paid leave yet, and we just can't afford to take unpaid time at all.  Even STD wouldn't be enough to break even.  So I may only be taking two weeks.  Won't that be fun*?

*no, I'm not bitter at all!*

christina1313

My time is all unpaid but one week, so it will be 6 or 8 weeks depending on how much we get back on our tax returns. 

JMCAVC

I think that's all I'll be able to take too since I just started this job last May.  If I can squeeze just a few more weeks, that would be great, but after I do all the NT Scans and tests in my first tri to make sure everything is OK, then I'll talk to HR and see what I can take.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

Jeanne

Happy2bNappy

I will prbly take ten weeks only because I have two weeks vacation and six wks STD so I should be able to wing it for another two weeks. I will more than likely be job hunting on my maternity leave because I am very unhappy at my job.

earollins

We only get 4 with STD but CA allows for more. I'm trying to stretch out my sick days to a total of 8 weeks.

I'm with you though--might be looking for a job when I get back based on our company's tactics of late. Hopefully I can last that long!

Sunsh1ne

Me.  My situation is somewhat unique.  I have my own solo law practice, but it's new (started in March 2009) so I can't take much time off without losing momentum.  I am telling clients and professional contacts that I will take 6 weeks leave, and then return to a limited schedule after May 1.  What will happen is that I will schedule appointments on evenings and weekends when dh can watch LO and then work from home with LO.

I move my office July 1 and will return to regular business hours then.  Hopefully I will have childcare in place by then.

I'm really bummed.  I put in the time at big firms and now that I am finally having a baby, I have left the big firm niceties - well, really, the only big firm nicety would have been paid maternity leave.

But, the tradeoff is that I am my own boss.

debbadebbadoo711

I am taking 12 weeks.  I will get 60% STD for what my doctor orders, and the remainder will be unpaid FMLA.  Unfortunately, I may not be able to go back to work at ALL because we cannot find affordable daycare. I can't AFFORD to go back to work- HOW STRANGE IS THAT???

Irishsapphire

I will be taking 6 to 10 weeks maternity leave depending on what my obgyn signs the form for, and it will be 100% paid.  I reach 7 years at my job this June, so the max I can get would be 10 weeks short term disability.  I will also be using some of my vacation time around the maternity leave, as well using vacation time for taking off Fridays in October, November and December--that way I only need to find daycare for Monday through Thursday.

mwd

Okay, I'll stop complaining that I will only get paid for part of my time off.Didn't realize how good I had it.  I am praying for all of you ladies that finances will work out for you.

AnotherChance

debbadebbadoo711:

I am taking 12 weeks.  I will get 60% STD for what my doctor orders, and the remainder will be unpaid FMLA.  Unfortunately, I may not be able to go back to work at ALL because we cannot find affordable daycare. I can't AFFORD to go back to work- HOW STRANGE IS THAT???

Not strange at all...I think there are a good number of people in the same situation! Sad, isn't it?

I got laid off back in June and we're hanging in there for now...but I plan to eventually look for work, and I know that my search may take some time because I have to hold out for a job that will not only cover the cost of daycare, but actually make it worthwhile for me to work (cover cost of gas, work clothes, etc., plus bring in some extra money).  And we hope to have another child eventually...and I may not be able to work with two because of daycare costs.

Part of me thinks how cool it will be to be able to stay home, but that means serious penny-pinching, not being able to save for retirement, plus I love the social aspect of work.  So, I'm definitely conflicted about the whole thing! I guess we're just taking it day by day...

tkcarnes

I hope I can get my 6 weeks off, mine is unpaid but the person who was filling in for me found a new job and now I don't know what to do. I was honestly hoping that I would only have to come back part time after the six weeks also because my work is so slow.

Another thing to worry about.

rsrn02

i get 6-8 wks STD leave for the birth then we have 6 wks 55% paid bonding leave if we want it in california. and another 6wks unpaid bonding leave.  i'm only doing the 6wks STD and 6wks bonding.

princess_shelly

Here in CA we get 6 weeks SDI (state disability) and 6 weeks of pfl (paid family leave), that is 12 weeks or roughly 3 months.  We also have aflac insurance that will pay us when I am on leave.  I am looking at being off the 4 weeks prior to the birth (that is paid by SDI) I am due 8/19/10, and will go back after 1/1/11.

DH is cool with that, and I can also be paid for what ever earned time I accrue.

shawn&tony

considering Im new at my job and my probation period is up the end of june and Im due the 2nd week in august I hope they will give me 6wks and my job to come back too.....

alixhayes

to origininal poster, you mentioned 'not sure your job would be there when you return'.... doesn't the language of the FMLA (fed, not state) guarantee you a job (perhaps not same position;  yes, unpaid...) for 12 weeks? Do you have more than 50 employees?  Good luck!   I hope that's not the case for you! 

I'm assuming you looked into all the laws in your state...looks like IN isn't as liberal w/the maternity laws, but even our HR lady here wasn't 100% on the new NJ rules (b/c a biggie passed a few mos ago)...here we get 4 wks b4 baby, 6 weeks after (all paid) and another 6 weeks after (i was told paid, or at least 2/3 salary, but my hr lady tried to tell me the 'state determines if it's paid or not') so I have some more digging to do, too.

from  https://blog.laborlawtalk.com/2009/08/21/federal-maternity-leave/:  (I didn't know about layoff exceptions....hmmmm, can you talk to them?)

"In most cases, it is illegal to terminate an employee for taking federal FMLA. FMLA is job-protected, which means when the employee returns from leave he or she must be given the same job or one that?s comparable in wages, working conditions and benefits.  In addition, the federal PDA (Pregnancy Discrimination Act) prohibits employers from discriminating against a woman just because she is pregnant or on maternity leave.

As with all rules and laws, though, there are exceptions. An employer can take any action against an employee on FMLA that would have been taken anyway, if the worker was not on FMLA. If a worker is on leave and the employer imposes a general layoff, the employee could be terminated.  For example, Mary is an administrative assistant and is on maternity leave. While she is away from work, her employer downsizes and lays off 40% of the employees, including 6 administrative assistants. In this scenario, pregnant women and those on maternity leave would not be exempt from the layoffs, so Mary could be terminated."

ShannonLK

alixhayes:

to origininal poster, you mentioned 'not sure your job would be there when you return'.... doesn't the language of the FMLA (fed, not state) guarantee you a job (perhaps not same position;  yes, unpaid...) for 12 weeks? Do you have more than 50 employees?  Good luck!   I hope that's not the case for you! 

I'm assuming you looked into all the laws in your state...looks like IN isn't as liberal w/the maternity laws, but even our HR lady here wasn't 100% on the new NJ rules (b/c a biggie passed a few mos ago)...here we get 4 wks b4 baby, 6 weeks after (all paid) and another 6 weeks after (i was told paid, or at least 2/3 salary, but my hr lady tried to tell me the 'state determines if it's paid or not') so I have some more digging to do, too.

from  https://blog.laborlawtalk.com/2009/08/21/federal-maternity-leave/:  (I didn't know about layoff exceptions....hmmmm, can you talk to them?)

"In most cases, it is illegal to terminate an employee for taking federal FMLA. FMLA is job-protected, which means when the employee returns from leave he or she must be given the same job or one that?s comparable in wages, working conditions and benefits.  In addition, the federal PDA (Pregnancy Discrimination Act) prohibits employers from discriminating against a woman just because she is pregnant or on maternity leave.

As with all rules and laws, though, there are exceptions. An employer can take any action against an employee on FMLA that would have been taken anyway, if the worker was not on FMLA. If a worker is on leave and the employer imposes a general layoff, the employee could be terminated.  For example, Mary is an administrative assistant and is on maternity leave. While she is away from work, her employer downsizes and lays off 40% of the employees, including 6 administrative assistants. In this scenario, pregnant women and those on maternity leave would not be exempt from the layoffs, so Mary could be terminated."

I'm an hourly employee in what I guess they still consider a "temporary" position even though I've been here since Aug 2008.  I wouldn't have been laid off because I was on maternity leave, but laid off due to budget constraints.  I work for a state university and around March or April the budget gets low so they have to make cuts to get them through the new budget which starts in July. 

But, I mentioned to my boss that I might have to start looking for something else so she had a meeting and told me that there was no reason that I wouldn't be able to come back @ 40 hrs wk after my maternity leave.  Whew!

 

engd4evr

Sigh....personally I think the maternity leave situation in the US is tragic.   I really feel for the PP who said she will have to return after 2 weeks....Having already had one child, I can tell you that 2 weeks will feel like 2 seconds...not only because it will be hard to leave a newborn but because labor/delivery takes time to recover from and "recovering" while up around the clock caring for a newborn is not a process that can be completed in 2 weeks.  You do what you have to do, but it's a shame that moms have to do this.....

spriit

I second that, engd4evr.  I'm lucky because even though I started my job pretty much just a week before I got pregnant, and we are too small to be covered by FMLA, I am getting 2 months paid and 1 month unpaid.  I'm thinking about coming back early because of the unpaid month - it's a pretty big loss since I'm the primary breadwinner, though we won't be starving or anything, and my mom has offered to take care of the baby for a few months when I go back to work.  I keep hearing from my European friends who get like a year, fully paid...