Please help with Maternity Leave Questions...

dehsignz

Thanks in advance for any input you may have, this is confusing to me and I want to be sure I am covered.

? My due date is 12/24 so I am going to put 12/20 as my first day of maternity leave

? I have 10 days vacation to use, can I use those the first 10 days or does the state have an issue if you are using vacation days while on maternity leave disability?

? If I set my start date at 12/20 how soon can expect checks to actually start showing up?

? When you stop the 6 weeks of CA state disability leave and start the 6 weeks of FMLA leave is there a gap in the checks coming in or does it stay pretty steady stream?

? Is the amount you got from CA state disability leave and FMLA the same amount?

 Thanks for any help!!! Anything else I should be concerned with or looking out for? 

weebaby

it really depends on the coverage offered within your company.  as a teacher, things were not the same for me as they were for a corporation.  also, small companies may have different policies than larger companies.

the best thing to do is talk to the HR person at your company and research CA law for FMLA, etc. 

sherthebear

I agree with Wee, the best thing to do is talk to your HR person. It really differs by company. I did not have any gaps, but everything went through my HR dept.

The state of CA also allows for up to 4 weeks of disability before you due date (that is in addition to the 6 weeks of SDI and CPFL). Maybe this article will help you out: https://www.associatedcontent.com/article/69587/maternity_leave_in_california_understand.html?cat=25

dehsignz

Problem is there is no HR department here, the boss and me. He doesn't know any of this stuff and I know won't follow up or research any of it so it all falls on me.

cindydee

FMLA does not pay you. FMLA is just for your job to be protected for 12 weeks (meaning your employer can't lay you off & you have to have your same position or same pay when you return to work after the 12th week). Disability/maternity leave gives you 4 weeks before you give birth & 6 weeks (vaginal delivery)  or 8 weeks (c-section) after your baby is born. It seems like you are not planning to take the 4 weeks off before delivery so if i were you I would  take 10 days of vacation (remember to not include holidays as vacation days if your employer pays holidays..& then I would take the 6 or 8 weeks off.

QtGinaJ

This is baby #2 for me, so I have done this before.  

My first question is why are you working so long??  You can take up to 4 weeks before your due date - and it's paid via state disability!  

But to your questions:

1. The first week of leave is considered a "wait period" and is NOT paid by the state (this is for any kind of leave - disability or unemployement).   The use of your vacation is up to your company.  Mine for example uses vacation to supplement disability pay.  Since disbiilty pay is approx 55% of your pay, my vacation hours are used to bring my pay to 100% until vacation pay is used up. 
2. Do NOT rely on the appearance of checks!  When I had DD I would receive pay for like 5 weeks, then go another 4 weeks without any payment.  Just be happy when you do get a check in the mail and budget wisely!
3. The gap in the checks is unrelated to the transition of disability to FMLA.  That transition should be smooth - but again, the state takes FOREVER to send the checks.
4. Yes, the amounts are the same.  Just to be clear - you will get up to 4 weeks before your due date paid, then 6 (or 8 if c-section) paid for disability, then another 6 paid for FMLA (CFRA - this is a California specific thing).  The last 6 weeks of FMLA leave are unpaid.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me (qtgirlgina@aol.com).

 

 

QtGinaJ

One more note - you only qualify for FMLA if you've been with your company over 1 year and the company has more than 50 employees . . .

mamam

Research online (look up CA pregnancy disability, CA paid family leave, CA state disability, etc.).  I don't have the articles handy but basically what Gina said.  FMLA is a federal law to cover your job for 12 weeks (although I don't think you're safe from being laid off) and has nothing to do with payment.  

The state of CA offers better job protection than federal so really FMLA becomes somewhat of a moot point.  The state of CA easily covers 4 weeks PDL (pregnancy disability leave), 6-8 weeks STD (short term disability) and then 6 weeks PFL (paid family leave).  In actuality you can be covered longer under PDL in CA (up to 4 mos I believe).  

I was also able to apply sick/vacation hours for the first week waiting period and then reduced hours per day to supplement the disability pay which is only 55%. 

dehsignz

QtGinaJ:

One more note - you only qualify for FMLA if you've been with your company over 1 year and the company has more than 50 employees . . .

 

Thanks for the info! Now by saying I don't qualify for FMLA is that to say my boss doesn't have to give me the time since we are such a small company or FMLA wont pay me cause we don't have 50 employees?

So even though it is just he and I, if he is nice and says it is ok for me to take the FMLA time will they still pay? 

snoopy4904

From what my HR team told me, FMLA is just the job protection part of your leave...not the actual pay portion.

cherrykat

This site made it pretty clear for me.  Hope it helps!  

https://www.milkalicious.com/corporate.html 

 

cherrykat

dehsignz:

Thanks in advance for any input you may have, this is confusing to me and I want to be sure I am covered.

? My due date is 12/24 so I am going to put 12/20 as my first day of maternity leave  You could technically start your maternity leave 4 weeks before your due date (which is around end of November) and be paid for it through SDI.  My DD was a week late and I was still paid for that week.  

? I have 10 days vacation to use, can I use those the first 10 days or does the state have an issue if you are using vacation days while on maternity leave disability?  The first seven (calendar) days (or first week) of SDI is considered a "waiting period" in which you do not get paid by SDI.  I was able to use my vacation days to cover the 5 working days I would be losing from work.  The remaining 5 vacation days you have can be used to suppliment the difference between SDI and your normal pay if you choose.  I decided to save those extra vacation days and extend my maternity leave which my boss was completely cool with.  Our company is small (dz employees) so doesn't apply for FMLA anyways. 

? If I set my start date at 12/20 how soon can expect checks to actually start showing up?  I don't really remember but it was pretty fast.  Maybe a couple of weeks.

? When you stop the 6 weeks of CA state disability leave and start the 6 weeks of FMLA leave is there a gap in the checks coming in or does it stay pretty steady stream?  I don't really remember.

? Is the amount you got from CA state disability leave and FMLA the same amount?   Same amount.

 Thanks for any help!!! Anything else I should be concerned with or looking out for?  

 Keep in mind that SDI is not taxable but Paid Family Leave is.  We had to report PFL on last year's taxes (but never received a tax statement).  Check w/your tax guy.  

dehsignz

Thanks for all the input ladies! ; )