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I hate our friggin' country's views on maternity leave VENT

SoyagerSoyager
in Eco-Friendly Family

I already knew this, but didn't consider how it would affect me until NOW:

I double-checked my school district's maternity leave policy/how they handle it and found out some wonderful gems:

-Since our state is in a massive budget crisis, not only did my pay get cut but disability benefits did, too. So, in the past, a woman could be out for 20 days and short-term disability would kick in so she'd get paid SOMETHING while out on maternity leave.

-Now, the number of days has jumped from 20 to 60 (and who has 60 sick days allotted? And can we say discrimination against women?!?), the maternity leave is 6 weeks from when the baby is due. (One used to get 2 weeks leading up to the due date, then the 6 following)

-Since I'll have the baby at the end of April and probably not come back until the following school year (unless I REALLY NEED to), the school district will just "pay me off" the remainder of my salary (minus taxes, of course) and I won't get my paychecks throughout the school year like I usually do.

This just sucks because it outs us at least $5k right off the bat. DH says he's just not worrying about it anymore because "health and well-being are more important than money," but I know that in a few months time he'll be stressing about it again.

Boo on modern American family values and the gov't that controls them.

My Little Tree Hugger
<a href="http://s1103.photobucket.com/albums/g471/HealthfulMama/?action=view
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Re: I hate our friggin' country's views on maternity leave VENT

  • papagenapapagena member

    Well, coming from a person who had absolutely no maternity benefits.... even with my new job, I get 12 weeks, but just paid in as much vacation I have accumulated, and my benefits are kept up.  All in all, that's not a terrible situation.  That is too bad about the change in the STD policy.

    As for the taxes - ask to fill out another W-4 and change the # of exemptions to lower your tax withholding.  Won't help a ton, but might a bit, especially if you're at 0 now.  I'd be somewhat wary, and maybe look at the tax tables to make sure you won't be paying in at the end of the year.

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  • SoyagerSoyager
    Good tips!
    My Little Tree Hugger
    <a href="http://s1103.photobucket.com/albums/g471/HealthfulMama/?action=view
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  • WiggleBabyWiggleBaby

    yeah it totally sucks... i have to say though, that's better than what i got.

    the maternity leave/family support in this country was written and created by men.  i kept telling myself i was supposed to move to canada before having a baby, lol! 

    i ended up quitting my job because 12 weeks (mostly unpaid) was not enough, i was exhausted... so they had to do another job search and waste time training another person... just because i couldnt have another couple of weeks to get ready?  it probably took them at LEAST a couple of weeks to fill my position, and plus time it would take to get that person trained to the level i was at... why doesnt anyone think of it that way?  it's such wasted time/money.  ARGH.

    and the worst?  my company was global and my co-workers in canada and the UK got 6 months or up to a year of maternity leave.  same company.  same exact work.  they just live elsewhere.  DOUBLE ARGH!

    sorry.  my point is - i feel your pain!  at least you get the summer off!!!

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  • hamilton.jahamilton.ja
    I can't even begin to tell you what I think of the policies here. After living in Europe it just seems cruel the way they do things here... and I was in the UK. Their policies don't even compare to some other places'. Honestly, we've had serious discussions about whether or not we should move back to the UK for these exact reasons. There is just so much more emphasis on work/life balance in general and that the gov't supports it is a tremendous help.
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  • babyluv617babyluv617 member
    I went through thinking the same thing last and wishing we would adopt Canada's policy.
    Mama to D 6.16.08 and C 3.11.10
    Tales of the Wife


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  • madeleines_mommymadeleines_mommy member
    A major flaw in our countries ways.  We could easily be getting better maternity leave like a lot of other countries.  Very dissapointing and embarassing if you ask me.
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  • hamilton.jahamilton.ja

    imagemadeleines_mommy:
    A major flaw in our countries ways.  We could easily be getting better maternity leave like a lot of other countries.  Very dissapointing and embarassing if you ask me.

    I totally agree with this - it is not as though it would be impossible to do. I get a lot of flack whenever I mention this from people who think all of Europe is a horrible socialist experiment and whatnot... I paid LESS tax in the UK than we do here. We also saw WAY more for our money than we do here. Now, I understand that it is a much smaller country, MUCH smaller... but come on - it isn't as though these policies could not be adapted for a larger population. It's doable it just goes against the "American Way" that we all hold so strongly to. Work hard and you'll get ahead, never expect a hand out and don't think of the gov't as your back up. We'd have to get away from that before it would work at all. 

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