Full-time No Maternity leave policy??!

Southernsunflower2012

I run an office in the Oil Field Industry and when I talked to the own about being pregnant and asked about their Maternity Leave they said they didnt have one! Lol We have only a couple of women working here and I guess this is the first time that it has ever come up so they never had to deal with it before....

What is the standard Maternity leave time??? I thought 6wks but when I had my DD I was young and was working less than 2 wks after I had her. Not sure what I should ask for or get.

Any help ladies?

jlaOK

Many companies don't have specific maternity leave policies.  If your company has more than 50 employees and you will have been there at least a year when you have your LO then you will qualify for FMLA which means you can take 12-weeks off (unpaid) and will have job protection for your job or an equivalent job.

If you pay for short-term disability insurance then you should receive 6 to 8 weeks (depending on vaginal vs c-section) of partial pay during your leave.  You will have also needed this in place for a year before you deliver.

I don't work in HR/benefits, so ladies correct me if any of the above is wrong.

Snow1010

Totally agree with the above....most companies don't have "maternity leave".

But, if you have STD you should get 6-8 weeks off with partial pay.....and if your company has 50+ employees, you are eligible for FMLA. 

mexicolombiana

Yup.  No maternity leave policy in America.  

If you work for a small business there are no rules, they just can't discriminate against you for being pregnant, but they do not have to give you an paid time off.

However, I would take this opportunity to submit a proposal for maternity leave and just see how they feel about it!

I would propose getting 12 weeks paid, and then asking for additional unpaid time off or something.  You never know, they could WANT to give you some paid time off.  Also see if you can take all your vacation and sick pay at once or something.

Otherwise you do just get the unpaid 12 week FMLA maximum and/or any STD options in your state.  Which is pretty shitty.  What good is 12 weeks UNPAID time off for some women? Great, so my bills don't get paid for 12 weeks???

I work for a small firm and my boss just decided to give me 6 weeks paid (that was pretty fair I thought) and I took off 6 more weeks unpaid.  We aren't covered by FMLA and IL has no kind of help really.

America the wonderful huh?

Southernsunflower2012

Okay so my company has 95-100 give or take. I would love to ask about getting some paid time off but I feel shy about it being that I feel lucky to be getting time off period.

I dont want to use vacation or sick because the first year is always full of Dr.'s appts and runny noses and I will need those PTO days for that as well.

It looks like to me the best option would to see if they have a problem with me taking 6 weeks....that seems like a fair amount as long as everything goes well..The unpaid wont hurt me as I work because I want to for sanity porposes and not because we need the money. DH has a wonderful job with AMAZING benifits. so I am blessed wither way.

Thank you for all of your help ladies! I appreciate it very much!

jamiedsgirl

Southernsunflower2012:

Okay so my company has 95-100 give or take. I would love to ask about getting some paid time off but I feel shy about it being that I feel lucky to be getting time off period.

I dont want to use vacation or sick because the first year is always full of Dr.'s appts and runny noses and I will need those PTO days for that as well.

It looks like to me the best option would to see if they have a problem with me taking 6 weeks....that seems like a fair amount as long as everything goes well..The unpaid wont hurt me as I work because I want to for sanity porposes and not because we need the money. DH has a wonderful job with AMAZING benifits. so I am blessed wither way.

Thank you for all of your help ladies! I appreciate it very much!

We (as the women in this country) shouldn't feel grateful for getting 6 weeks unpaid.  That is pretty sh!tty in my opinion.  That is barely enough time to medically recover.  If you don't have a policy in place, you can help yourself and other future women of your company by requesting at least 12 weeks off.  Even though 12 weeks isn't that great either, it is much more managable than 6.  And much more appropriate, in my mind.

IdigDirt

If you don't need the money I would probably take 812 weeks just personally. I had to come back after 6 weeks because my company does nt have 50 employees so that was all they allowed me. I still am so sad missing those extra few weeks and feel it is why my supply dried up and I couldn't BF as long as I wanted. Obviously it is up to you, just throwing in my 2 cents.

cecilyandgautam

Since this is the first time this has come up and you'll be setting precedent, I would encourage you to propose a certain amount of paid leave. It's the international norm, so they may be open to it. 

cecilyandgautam

If 6 weeks is really all you want, then don't feel guilty about not taking more. I think the way women jumped all over the Yahoo CEO was really counter productive. Take the right amount of time for you & your family. 

With regards to pay, why not propose paid leave & see what they do about it? If you take leave without pay, that'll be time not spent paying into retirement, social security, benefits, etc. And if you can get paid leave now, that'll position you better to negotiate benefits for your next job. You may not feel the need for extra cash now, but once the baby's here, I'm sure you could come up with some good uses for 6 weeks salary. College savings anyone?

honkytonk_kid

Southernsunflower2012:

Okay so my company has 95-100 give or take. I would love to ask about getting some paid time off but I feel shy about it being that I feel lucky to be getting time off period.

I dont want to use vacation or sick because the first year is always full of Dr.'s appts and runny noses and I will need those PTO days for that as well.

It looks like to me the best option would to see if they have a problem with me taking 6 weeks....that seems like a fair amount as long as everything goes well..The unpaid wont hurt me as I work because I want to for sanity porposes and not because we need the money. DH has a wonderful job with AMAZING benifits. so I am blessed wither way.

Thank you for all of your help ladies! I appreciate it very much!

6 weeks is not a reasonable leave, IMO. Many women do it, but I don't think it's long enough for a standard leave.

I just think you're aiming way too low to "see if they have a problem with" 6 weeks. I would ask for 12 weeks, minimum. Obviously some portion of that being paid would be best, but even if not, 12 weeks is the bare minimum that should be standard, IMO. 

itsmevkb

I work for the federal government and in an office that is mainly women and we have no maternity leave policy except that you can take whatever annual and sick leave you have accumulated or take unpaid leave under FMLA.  And, that's the policy for all leave, there is nothing specific anywhere about maternity leaves.

jlsimon56

I work for a large company and we get 5 weeks at partial pay of STD. 

jlaOK

Southernsunflower2012:

Okay so my company has 95-100 give or take. I would love to ask about getting some paid time off but I feel shy about it being that I feel lucky to be getting time off period.

I dont want to use vacation or sick because the first year is always full of Dr.'s appts and runny noses and I will need those PTO days for that as well.

It looks like to me the best option would to see if they have a problem with me taking 6 weeks....that seems like a fair amount as long as everything goes well..The unpaid wont hurt me as I work because I want to for sanity porposes and not because we need the money. DH has a wonderful job with AMAZING benifits. so I am blessed wither way.

Thank you for all of your help ladies! I appreciate it very much!

Don't feel lucky to be getting time off.  Your company isn't doing you any favors, it is federal law.  It would be the same as if another employee had major surgery and needed time off.

Also, I'm not positive about this but you may have to exhaust all of your sick/vacation time before taking any unpaid leave.

jlaOK

honkytonk_kid:

Southernsunflower2012:

Okay so my company has 95-100 give or take. I would love to ask about getting some paid time off but I feel shy about it being that I feel lucky to be getting time off period.

I dont want to use vacation or sick because the first year is always full of Dr.'s appts and runny noses and I will need those PTO days for that as well.

It looks like to me the best option would to see if they have a problem with me taking 6 weeks....that seems like a fair amount as long as everything goes well..The unpaid wont hurt me as I work because I want to for sanity porposes and not because we need the money. DH has a wonderful job with AMAZING benifits. so I am blessed wither way.

Thank you for all of your help ladies! I appreciate it very much!

6 weeks is not a reasonable leave, IMO. Many women do it, but I don't think it's long enough for a standard leave.

I just think you're aiming way too low to "see if they have a problem with" 6 weeks. I would ask for 12 weeks, minimum. Obviously some portion of that being paid would be best, but even if not, 12 weeks is the bare minimum that should be standard, IMO. 

I agree with this.  Plan to take the full 12 weeks off and go back early if you want to.  You won't know how you will feel about going back to work until you actually have the baby.  I always think it is better to ask for the most and come back early versus asking for more time off than you originally planned for.

mexicolombiana

cecilyandgautam:

Since this is the first time this has come up and you'll be setting precedent, I would encourage you to propose a certain amount of paid leave. It's the international norm, so they may be open to it. 

Yes this is how I feel too.  You should really start with asking for at LEAST 12 weeks paid off.  The only thing they can say is no.  

I also agree that if $ isn't an issue to take as much time off as you can.  You will want to be home with your baby.  Plus recovering and BFing in the beginning SUCKS. 

AZ123

I work at a company without maternity leave and I asked for 16 weeks with each baby and it was approved twice. That's the advantage of being at a smaller organization without a formal policy in place. You can negotiate.

Yes, it was unpaid and so they brought in a temp to fill my position but totally worth it for me and worth it financially. Hubbie and I just saved our money and planned for it. Although I could have gone back at 12 weeks and been fine. I personally think you should ask for 14 and settle on 12. You could ask for part of it paid but that probably won't happen. Just be sure to confirm that your health coverage will go unchanged while you're on leave if you are on your company's plan.

526SadieSadie

jlaOK:

Many companies don't have specific maternity leave policies.  If your company has more than 50 employees and you will have been there at least a year when you have your LO then you will qualify for FMLA which means you can take 12-weeks off (unpaid) and will have job protection for your job or an equivalent job.

If you pay for short-term disability insurance then you should receive 6 to 8 weeks (depending on vaginal vs c-section) of partial pay during your leave.  You will have also needed this in place for a year before you deliver.

I don't work in HR/benefits, so ladies correct me if any of the above is wrong.

All of this.  TDI is taken out of my pay every week so when I was on leave I got partial salary, but that's from the state, not my company.  There's no "maternity" leave. it's all lumped in with "medical leave" and there's no determined time schedule, it's a matter of when my doctor cleared me to return (I needed a letter from the doctor saying I was fit to return to work). 

ChicagoWeded2007

I think you should ask for 12 weeks.

But I am pretty shocked that you told your boss at only 5 weeks pregnant. Wowza! 

ChicagoWeded2007

jamiedsgirl:

Southernsunflower2012:

Okay so my company has 95-100 give or take. I would love to ask about getting some paid time off but I feel shy about it being that I feel lucky to be getting time off period.

I dont want to use vacation or sick because the first year is always full of Dr.'s appts and runny noses and I will need those PTO days for that as well.

It looks like to me the best option would to see if they have a problem with me taking 6 weeks....that seems like a fair amount as long as everything goes well..The unpaid wont hurt me as I work because I want to for sanity porposes and not because we need the money. DH has a wonderful job with AMAZING benifits. so I am blessed wither way.

Thank you for all of your help ladies! I appreciate it very much!

We (as the women in this country) shouldn't feel grateful for getting 6 weeks unpaid.  That is pretty sh!tty in my opinion.  That is barely enough time to medically recover.  If you don't have a policy in place, you can help yourself and other future women of your company by requesting at least 12 weeks off.  Even though 12 weeks isn't that great either, it is much more managable than 6.  And much more appropriate, in my mind.

 

I totally agree!  Don't feel sheepish about asking fork something we NEED. Giving birth and taking care of a newborn are hard things to do. Women should be able to work and be moms, but in order to do that we need the time off. It isn't like a "gift;" it should be a presumption that we get it.  At 6 weeks, although I was functioning, I was barely functioning and there's no way I could have worked and done anything remotely well. 

shannm

I work full time at a large university and did not have a formal leave. I used accrued PTO, including vacation time and sick days. I had about seven weeks saved when I gave birth. If I wanted more time, my job would have been protected up to 12 weeks but it would have been unpaid.

jess9802

I work for a company that was too small for both federal and state medical leave acts, and had never had a pregnant employee before. Additionally, I am an associate, and associates don't have set vacation/sick/personal leave - we take it at our discretion.

I had numerous conversations with our firm administrator about what is standard in the profession and in local firms of similar size. Ultimately, the company offered me up to 12 weeks of leave. The first four were at full salary, the second four at half salary, and the final four with no pay. They also offered to pay all of my benefits for the full 12 weeks. After sitting down with my husband and looking at our finances, we decided that I would take eight weeks of leave. I had a normal pregnancy, delivered at full term, had an uncomplicated delivery, and was feeling pretty good when I returned to work. The firm accommodated my minor request re: pumping upon my return (put a lock on my office door!), and at four months postpartum things are going just fine.

My firm made it very clear they were not adopting a universal parental leave policy. It was clear that what they offered me was specific to me at that time. The offer they made was based in part on my length of employment with the company (six years at time of delivery) and my future (nearing partnership). If an hourly/non-exempt employee with a leave bank or a new associate needed maternity leave, they would come up with a different plan. They might have a different plan for me if I have a second baby and am not a partner by then.

iverske9

Maternity leave is different from state to state if it is paid or not as well as companies. FMLA is different that is job security for 12 weeks but not paid which people confuse. Very few states pay maternity leave so it depends on your company. If your company is less than 50 people they do not even have to offer MFLA. You can look into STD insurance (AFLAC) and maybe pay into it and get money back but these usually have a year wait. Talk to your HR person and get a copy of your company policy. Unfortunately it is whatever the company wants. I always tell any women I know even close to child bearing years who are working to find out what your company offers because most do not look into it till it is too late. Good luck!

stdldb29

I'm a teacher, I took off every day--unpaid. 

PotomacSt

I agree, plan for 12 weeks and go back earlier of you want.

My daughter was colicky and at 6 weeks old she was still crying for hours and hours a day. I wouldn't have wanted to put her in childcare like that

exhibitv

You will also need to consider your child care situation -- some daycares won't take babies younger than 6 or 8 weeks.  Personally, I work for a large accounting firm that has a formal maternity leave policy of 8 weeks paid and then I took 4 weeks off which were paid with PTO.  I didn't want to use up all my PTO, because as you mentioned, there are going to be lots of days after I go back to work that I need the time off, but I wasn't given the option to go unpaid in lieu of my vacation time.  

 I also think that I would ask for at least the 12 weeks that you would be covered by FMLA and if you want to come back earlier, I'm sure they would probably have no problem with it! Good luck with your proposal  

flhokie

I work for a small company, but large enough to qualify for FMLA. Previously I worked for very large corporations. No company I have worked for has had "maternity leave." It has to be handled under STD and FMLA. 

My company offered me 2 weeks paid and I could take 2 weeks of PTO for 4 weeks total. My doctor would not approve this during my pregnancy. In the end I had a c-section so I qualified for 8 weeks of partial base pay under STD which is what I ended up taking. I had told my company of my decision to use STD for my entire leave before DD was born so they knew it would be either 6 or 8 weeks depending on delivery. I took the the gamble and did not use FMLA (technically the only job protection for "maternity leave") which worked out fine. If I had any concerns about my job security I would have gone the FMLA route since technically, without that, they could have given away my job. 

ITGurl0626

Southernsunflower2012:

Okay so my company has 95-100 give or take. I would love to ask about getting some paid time off but I feel shy about it being that I feel lucky to be getting time off period.

I dont want to use vacation or sick because the first year is always full of Dr.'s appts and runny noses and I will need those PTO days for that as well.

It looks like to me the best option would to see if they have a problem with me taking 6 weeks....that seems like a fair amount as long as everything goes well..The unpaid wont hurt me as I work because I want to for sanity porposes and not because we need the money. DH has a wonderful job with AMAZING benifits. so I am blessed wither way.

Thank you for all of your help ladies! I appreciate it very much!

 

Do keep in mind that you should not be working until your doctor releases you to go back to work.  Generally that is 6 weeks with a vaginal birth & 8 weeks with a c-section.  I had to show my employer proof that my doctor released me to go back to work.

whynotwhynot

I would ask for what businesses in your state with 50+ employees get.  When discussing I would give them a copy of the labor law pertaining to maternity leave for your state.  In CA a women qualifies for disability at 60% of salary when her doctor signs her out (standard is sometime during last month before due date) until 6 to 8 weeks after birth. She then qualifies for 12 weeks of bonding time with the baby (6 of these weeks is 60% of salary through  paid family leave).  This means a woman can take 18 weeks off after the birth in CA if she works for a firm w/50+ employees.

- You need to factor in some cushion for if you have to leave work early.  Some are able to work until the day they give birth, but not everyone ends up being able to.

-  Infants do not get shots until 8 weeks.  I would not want to put a baby in daycare before this time.

- Your doctor will not clear you to return to work until 8 weeks out if you have a c-section.

 

preciousmetal

I work for a small family owned company, and they don't offer maternity leave. I just had to save up all my sick days and vacation and then ended up still taking two weeks unpaid (total of 6 weeks) with my youngest. With my older two, we weren't in a good enough place financially for me to take any unpaid time, so I took just 2 weeks with my 1st child and 3 weeks with my 2nd child. Pretty rediculous.

flhokie

whynotwhynot:

I would ask for what businesses in your state with 50+ employees get.  When discussing I would give them a copy of the labor law pertaining to maternity leave for your state.  In CA a women qualifies for disability at 60% of salary when her doctor signs her out (standard is sometime during last month before due date) until 6 to 8 weeks after birth. She then qualifies for 12 weeks of bonding time with the baby (6 of these weeks is 60% of salary through  paid family leave).  This means a woman can take 18 weeks off after the birth in CA if she works for a firm w/50+ employees.

- You need to factor in some cushion for if you have to leave work early.  Some are able to work until the day they give birth, but not everyone ends up being able to.

-  Infants do not get shots until 8 weeks.  I would not want to put a baby in daycare before this time.

- Your doctor will not clear you to return to work until 8 weeks out if you have a c-section.

 

I agree with not wanting to put a child in daycare until shots and that most doctors will not clear you to return to work until 8 weeks after a c-section. Those are definitely things to consider. 

As my doctor said, he would not approve me to return to work at 4 weeks after working from home (like my company wanted me to) because "you never know how you will feel physically & emotionally." He said he'd be willing to discuss it after I delivered, but not before. In the end I had a c-section and it was never an issue (out 8 weeks). 

 That being said, keep in mind that CA is one of only a few states with "maternity leave" policies, let alone state disability.

Most places people are left solely with unpaid FMLA for job protection and employer or employee paid STD.