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November 2011 Moms
How much time...
Will you be taking off after baby? I just got off a call with my HR people, and it looks like FMLA in our states (I work remotely) allows for 6 weeks unpaid. STD will kick in concurrently, but only depending on what my doctor recommends for time off after delivery, which will be fully paid. I called and they said their standard recommendation is 6 weeks.
I don't know if I'm grateful or sad. I'm glad to hopefully get the 6 weeks paid time off, but the thought of sending my 7 week old to a daycare makes me anxious and sad already.
How much time are you allowed to take, via your HR policies? How much time will you actually be taking?
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Re: How much time...
I am incredibly fortunate - and have found a new reason to be in love with my company. I'll get six weeks STD (paid 100%) followed by 11 weeks maternity leave (paid 100%) followed by any vacation I have on the books (3 weeks). Nearly 5 months off. I know that a benefit like this is rare, though.
I agree, 6 weeks is still more than some get but sending a 7 week old baby to daycare would be hard. You have to wonder what employers that do things like that are thinking - your mind won't be on your work at all and just a few more weeks would lead to better productivity.
Can you ask about part time or working from home?
We do not have a good policy and I WORK WITH CHILDREN!!
We have to give 2 weeks of our sick leave (we are only given 2 weeks per year) and they (the school district) will contribue 4 weeks of "sick" leave for a total of 6 weeks. When I return, I will have no sick days for the rest of the year. If baby (or me) gets sick, I have to go unpaid.
I purchased an extra insurance coverage that I believe offers to pay 1/2 of what you normally make for 12 weeks...I need to look into this further because I want to have as much time with baby as possible!
I actually do work from home already. I am in Maine and my company is in Minnesota. It looks like Maine law allows for 12 weeks, but Minnesota only allows for 6. Because of the qualifications (you must have X employees within the state) I only qualify for whatever they'll give in Minnesota.
My company requires that we provide adequate childcare even though I work from home. I think DH and I might contemplate hiring an in-home nanny, instead of daycare, but I have no idea if that's cheaper or not.
We were allowed to take the full 12 weeks off, and as long as you have STD you'll get paid for it. But unless your doctor said you had to take more than 6 weeks off, you were only paid for 6 weeks. Is that clear as mud?
I'm a SAHM now, so I don't really get any time "off". Unless you count the days I'm the hospital
MN FMLA is 6 weeks unpaid but the Federal FMLA is 12 weeks and therefor you should be able to take the full 12 weeks if you request.
My leave will go like this:
first 5 days paid at 100%
next 5 weeks paid at 60%
As much vacation as I want to use (have a total of 22 days, will probably use 5-10 days) paid at 100%
The remainder till 4 months paid at 0%
I think you are misunderstanding FMLA. FMLA provides job protection for 12 weeks (not paid) as long as you have worked for your company for 12 months and they have 50 employees in a certain mile radius. STD will likely pay for 6 weeks of leave at some percentage of your pay.
Don't despair when I was pregnant with my first I spoke to our HR and they told me that I could take 6 weeks off and none of it would be paid and that was it. They had me in tears. Come to find out I just didn't word it correctly, but a friend of mine searched through the HR handbooks until she came up with the official policy. I would talk to someone else.
I looked it up, and read that the Federal can not trump the State law, even if one allows for more time that the other. I have no idea though...all I know is that my handbook says 6 weeks only, and the HR rep confirmed it.
I think that's the kicker--- the company doesn't have that. We are all mostly remote.
And, unfortunately we only have 1 HR person so there is no one else to ask. BUT, she was very nice about it and said that this is actually a new policy for them and I'm the first to utilize it so they are willing to be flexible with me. She said they'd let me us my floating holidays, etc. We'll see, I'm trying not to stress about it. At least I get the 6 weeks...I know it's more than some get!
The Federal FMLA can not override a state FMLA if the state FMLA provides a greater amount of time:
"This act does not pre-empt or preclude state or local laws that provide greater leave rights, nor does it interfere with state or federal laws prohibiting discrimination."
You should speak with someone else because you are being misinformed. I work in MN so I have a pretty clear understanding of the laws... https://www.dli.mn.gov/LS/ParLeave.asp
Nanny's in our area are charging more than daycares. We have found the best prices, so far, with home licensed daycares but we're still looking. Twins really changed what we anticipated and budgeted for!
Other thing is that if you "don't heal fast enough" then your 6 weeks STD can become longer. That timeframe is established by your doctor, not by the STD insurance coverage or employer. Just a thought...
I am fortunate that I work for my family. I can take as much time as I want, the pay is sort of unclear though. I will probably be working part time from home immediately. If there's a computer around, I am checking emails (just how I am).
I will be back in the office part time starting Jan 1 (by choice). I don't know that I will ever be back 40 hours a week. I am salary, so hours per week don't really matter so long as I get the job done and can still manage my department.
I can and will take 12 weeks. My work covers 6 at 100%, I can use 3 weeks of vacation at 100%, I'll get STD for 11 weeks which runs concurrent to what work covers and is not 100%. But it all works out in the end.
I'm just kicking myself for not increasing my STD coverage, but it'll all work out in the end. We'll just have to save more now to cover the difference for those 3 weeks.
Thank you for this! I found that site but I read it wrong. I'm going to send this to my HR person and ask her "why" I don't qualify for the 12 weeks and see what she says!!
If my STD would cover 6, and then I could take an additional 6, I'd do it even if those last 6 were unpaid!
Ok wait, I just found this on the same site:
Do I get time off work to have a baby?
Employers with 21 or more employees must allow at least six weeks of unpaid leave of absence upon request by the employee. The employee (both mothers and fathers) must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and at least 20 hours a week to be eligible for parental leave. Employees may also be covered by the federal leave law for up to 12 weeks if an employer has 50 or more employees in a 75-mile radius (see Minnesota Statutes 181.940).
We do not have the 50 employees with a 75-mile radius. So, that is probably why I am not covered by the federal leave law. I'm still going to clarify though.
How confusing and stupid! Let us know what your employer says and if Federal FMLA doesn't cover you, hopefully your company will work with you so you can take off a few more weeks!
We can take off whatever we have on the books between sick time (earn 3 weeks/year), vacation time (I earn 3 weeks/year right now) and comp time (we can turn our over time in for comp time instead if we want).
The plan is because of the paid holidays during that time (I'll have 10 paid holidays between the time the baby is born and MLK, Jr. Day) to take a total of 10 weeks, leaving me with a balance of 3 weeks of sick time, 3 weeks of vacation time and whatever comp I have on the books in case I need more time off for an emergency or problem.
We get 12 weeks but not all paid. With STD, it's 6 weeks at 60% if its a natural birth or 8 weeks at 60% for a c/s BUT STD doesn't kick in for 2 weeks, so I have to cover those first two weeks with PTO.
I can also use PTO to cover that remaining 40% and any more of the 12 weeks. We also have an extended leave bank, that we can use. Its there to cover for the first 2 weeks of STD.
Confused?
HR says 6 (or 8 with a c-section), FMLA says 12
I get short term disability for 6 weeks (or 8 for a c-section) and then I will be taking 2 weeks vacation at the end of it, so I will have off from 8-10 weeks depending on delivery.
I have 6 weeks FMLA from the state of WI, unpaid. that's it. I was hoping i could take 12 but according to our state law i can only have 6. I'm not sure if I will be going back to work, so i'm not really concerned with it being unpaid. We've saved up money and started living on just my husband's income for about a year now to prepare so i don't have to go back if i don't want to. I only work part time so i don't have any kind of insurance through them (only through my husband).
I'm jealous of the canadian girls in here!
As awesome as that is, I don't think I could survive for nearly a year on only 60% of my salary.
I hope to take 12 weeks off. FMLA will guarantee my job for 12 weeks.
I can get 6 weeks of STD (8 if c-section), but there is a 5-day waiting period, so technically only 5 weeks are paid at 100%. For the remainder of the 12 weeks, I will have to use PTO or take unpaid time off.
After I go back to work, the plan is for DH to take a couple months off (unpaid) before we start daycare.
I'm going to do the same thing that I did with DS. I will take STD for 6 weeks and then 1-2 weeks of vacation. Then he will start daycare.
FMLA will entitle me to 12 weeks off and if I go back my job or an equal job must be available. FMLA does not give money.
Our STD has the first 2 weeks at no pay. Weeks 2-8 are at 60% pay for a vag birth. If I have a c-section than weeks 2-10 are at 60% pay. The remaining weeks would be without pay.
The killer is that I still have to pay for insurance and my company apparently won't pay their portion so in the long run I think I will nearly owe. I am going to fight that with our board because another pregnant lady did.
I understand that this might not be possible, but if you can swing it, I would definitely recommend trying to take more like 12 weeks. (Maybe use vacation time or at least try to go back part-time for a month or so?)
I think your LO will be just fine either way, but you will be feeling much better at 3 months than at 6-7 weeks. Everyone says the first 6-8 weeks are the hardest and that's definitely true, but I felt like it wasn't until around 3 months that things really started to fall into place. I can't imagine trying to juggle work before that point!
GL!
DD february 2010 | DS october 2011
*please excuse my typos, bumping from my iphone*
My employer allows 12 weeks off to remain in my position. After that I would risk losing my position/job. They pay me for 4 weeks and then I can use my PTO and/or go unpaid.
I will get my 4 weeks paid and have 2 weeks PTO saved to use. We are trying to put aside 6 more weeks in the meantime. With DD I only took 8 weeks and the first week I sat at home waiting for her to make her appearance. So in reality I only had 7 weeks with her before I had to go back to work.
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