Maternity Leave/Short Term Disability

CloudNine2007

DH and I are trying to get all our ducks in a row before we begin TTC in the next couple of months. 

I know my company does NOT offer any paid maternity leave.  We obviously can use sick/vacation time towards it but that is it.

What about short term disability?  Can someone explain to me STD?  Is this through insurance at work or insurance we carry for our home/car?

If your company did not pay you for the time you were out, how did you and your DH handle that?

katie277s

I believe STD works through your insurance from work, if they offer it.  It usually kicks in after 7 days.  It usually pays about 60% of your pay for a certain period of time.  It may be different by state or employer.  For instance, at my job, STD will kick in on day 8 (where vacation or sick time, if available will cover those first 7 days).  We can use STD for up to 23 weeks (pending a doctor's approval).  I would check with your HR rep and find out exactly how it works at your job and what your options are. 

Good luck!

SarahFin

My STD was offered through work.  Everyone at my company is eligible, but I know not all companies operate that way.  We were also eligible for 12 weeks unpaid through FMLA.  I saved up a lot of vacation days and extra money to supplement our income during my time off; I took 10 weeks off, then it was back to work!!

blondie75

My employer does not provide paid maternity leave.  My short term disability ran through work.  It covered 66% of my salary for either 6 weeks for a vaginal delivery or 8 weeks for a c-section.  My employer allows you to use PTO to cover the additional salary to equal 100%.  You could also use PTO to cover the remaining weeks of leave.  ISince we don't really need my salary, I opted to receive my STD, but that's it.  I didn't want to come back to work with a zero leave balance.

ali-1411

I just got my STD check, actually

I got 6 weeks paid at 60% of my regular pay, and it was through my insurance at work.  We dipped into savings to keep us going while I'm off work, we had been saving for this reason.

amos2006

My STD is through work, it covered 60% of my salary for 6wks for vaginal delivery or 8 wks for c-section after a 14day waiting period for which i had to use 1 week of PTO time. ?So because i had a c-section i actually got paid 60% of my salary for 6 wks (seemed a little shady to me, but this is how it worked 2wks waiting+ 6wks paid =8 wks, another reason to be happy i had a c)

I actually took 16wks off total, which is FMLA in my state. ?I worked a lot of extra hrs and saved a ton of money while i was pg to cover my income during the rest of the time i was out. ?So the one thing i would recommend is start saving now.?

jlw2505

At my company, under FMLA, you get 12 weeks unpaid.  You qualify for STD and that pays out 6 weeks for a vaginal birth and 8 weeks for a c-section.  It pays out at 60% but you can sign up to supplement that for a small fee (which I did the second time around) and then it pays out at 80% of your salary.  All of this is through work.  I also made sure I had some vacation time saved up which was able to use.  The 1st time, I went unpaid for month and the second time, for 2 weeks since I had a c-section.

Whirlgirl01

The Family Leave Act (FMLA) says you are allowed 12 weeks off for a family leave (such as having a child) and that your employer can't give away your job within that time.  You can use it all at once, or break it up over the course of a years time.  I believe it's within a calendar year.  You use Short-term Disability while you're out.  Typically, it's 6 weeks for a vaginal delivery, and 8 weeks for a c-section.  There's usually a waiting period of at least a week before the STD kicks in.  Most of the time, companies offer STD through their benefits, but I believe if your company doesn't offer it, you can purchase some on your own.  The percentage of your current pay, that the STD covers varies on each plan.  Mine was paid 100%, but I hear a lot of people only getting 60% or 66%. 

julyjennifer

My employer didn't pay anything for maternity leave.

I got STD through work, and it was 60% for 6 weeks with a 2 week origination period (so really only 60% for 4 weeks) but the crappy part about my company's STD policy was it capped at $1000 a week, which was not nearly 60% of my salary.

Since then my firm has gotten a better policy so the next time around I should get 60%.

We just saved a bunch beforehand.  I took 12 weeks off (10 weeks full-time and 4 weeks part time for an equivalent of 12 weeks).

Luckystar2

I have STD through my work.  The amount of time is based on how long you've been here. My STD was 4 months at 100% pay.  But a regular birth qualifies for 6 weeks STD and c-section is 8 weeks.

My company falls under FMLA so I could take off a total of 12 weeks.  STD runs concurrently with FMLA and is just a way to get paid.  I saved up my vacation days to pay for the rest of the time.

So the first 6 weeks were 100% pay from STD. The second 6 weeks were 100% pay from my vacation.  My whole leave ended up being paid for even though my company does not have paid leave.

sydlc88

STD is through your work insurance.  Some companies offer it free of charge to their employees, some companies require their employees to pay for the benefit, and some companies do not provide it at all. 

 My company provides it at no cost to the employee.  You can go on STD for any sick leave longer than 5 days.  You are paid at either 100% or 60% of your regular pay depending on how long you have been with the company.  I have been with my company for 4 years so I can take up to 4 weeks at 100% pay and then up to another 22 weeks at 60% of my pay.  My company does not have a separate maternity leave policy. 

 If your employer has more than 15 employees then you should qualify for FMLA leave even if your company doesn't provide maternity leave or STD leave.  Under FMLA you can take up to 12 weeks off for a family medical reason, but it is unpaid.  I also believe that employer can force you to use your vacation/sick time first, but I'm not positive about that aspect of FMLA. 

katy75

ML at my company is covered through the companies STD.  If you are here less than 1 year, it is paid 60%.  Over one year it is paid at 100% of your salary.  I took the whole 6 weeks (which started the day I delivered).  I then threw on 3 weeks of vacation after my STD ran out. 

I could have taken FMLA, well I kind of did.  STD and FMLA would have run at the same time, so while I was out on STD I was also using my FMLA time.  I could've taken the rest of my FMLAS (6 weeks) at not been paid after my 6 weeks of STD was up, but we couldn't afford that.