I am trying to figure out what my maternity leave benefits are, and am having a hard tme getting any definitive answer. ?I am trying to keep the pregnancy a secret until June (my school is known for screwing over the pregnant teachers) so I can't ask my union rep, and when I call my union office, there is NOBODY there to speak to.
My mother-in-law told me that for every month I am out, I will lose one week of summer pay, even though I will be using my own sick time for maternity (I have saved 33 days so far.) ?Does anyone know if this is true or not??
TIA!
Sara?
Re: Teachers in NYC.....
Do you work for the DOE? Anyway, you are only entitled to 6 weeks UNPAID maternity leave. Those days come out of your CAR. After that you go off payroll and benefits. The DOE only has to hold your position for one year. Go to the UFT website and do a search for maternity workshops. They give one every month, which spells out all the rules.
First of all, congrats!
Are you a DOE employee? I had my daughter in January of 07, and I was allowed to take 6 weeks of paid leave using days I had in my CAR. They don't call it paid leave or maternity leave though, they call it something like "recovery". You can use up to six weeks if you deliver normally and 8 if you have a c-section. What's important to know is that the six weeks begins from the day your baby is born. So, if you delivered right before spring break, they won't take your sick days for the week of spring break, but it still counts as part of your six weeks. After six weeks, you have to go on unpaid leave. I have never heard anything aobut losing summer pay. Call your borough UFT office, not the main NYC one... I had a lot of success talking to the Bronx office. Feel free to pm if you have any more questions, and good luck!