Maternity Leave

AshleyS86

Hi Ladies-

I live in RI but work in CT and was wondering what maternity leave policies are in place.  How much time (if any) is an employer required to give you off and is any of it paid?

I checked my employee handbook and it says nothing about maternity leave so I assume my only paid time will be whatever paid time off I have accumulated.  I am planning to tell my employer soon (I am still in my 1st tri) and ask about the policy but i'd like to have an idea ahead of time.

 Any help would be great!  Thanks!

Lighthouse Beach Bride

I think you are required to get 6 weeks.  That's usually the postpartum Dr. visit.  If your Dr. says you need more time to heal for any reason, a note from the Dr. will give you the right to come back when they say.  Every company has it's own rules also.  Some will give you more time, some will only give you what the law says is the minimum (6 weeks).

 

 

jkc03003

If you work at a compnay with 50+ employees, than the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will apply to you, and your company is required to give you 12 weeks of protected leave (meaning they have to give you the 12 weeks off and give you your job back after the 12 weeks).  However, these 12 weeks aren't mandated to be paid, unless your company has a policy that says they will pay you.  If your company is less than 50 employees, then FMLA doesn't apply, and there is nothing that is mandated in terms of maternity leave.  Most likely it will be just your accumulated paid time off, unless your company has an alternative specific maternity leave plan.  OR if your company offers short term disability, you can go on that for maternity leave and that usually entails a certain number of weeks you can take off and get paid a certain percentage of your salary during those weeks (the # weeks and % of salary will depend on the specifics of your short term disability plan).

Good luck!

skyfarm15

Federal FMLA protects your job for 12 weeks.  CT FMLA protects it for 16 weeks from the birth of the baby (they called it "bonding time"), usually unpaid unless you have that much paid time off to use.  My HR did not know this and I had to email them the proof.

merrymarks

The tricky thing is finding out what you can take before the baby is born.  I want at least a month before to prepare but the FMLA does not cover that so I have to take all my vacation days which means I get paid nothing during the 3 month leave after the birth.  I'm so disappointed. 

Anyone else having this problem?  Some ladies say to fake it that you are in pain so the dr will put you on bedrest and then your company has to give you the short-term disability but I don't know how I feel about that.

melandgreg

With my first daughter I received 6 weeks paid disability after they used the remainder of my paid time off. I suspect I'll be doing the same this time. I think it depends on the company size and what laws are in place for them