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1st Trimester
Negotiating Maternity Leave
Background Info: I work as a paralegal to a partner and associate attorney. There are a total of 7 attorneys at my firm. I just moved to this firm from another firm that was MUCH further away from my home, so I'm pretty new. This firm is fairly newer and has not had anyone pregnant, nor do they have a maternity plan.
My boss has told me he will work with me and is allowing me to gain more personal days by working overtime or on Saturdays, but he told me to research maternity leave and we could decide what we feel is fair and best. I have no clue what to tell him or what I feel would be fair and what he would go with. This is my first and I'm due Dec. 2. Any advice?
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Re: Negotiating Maternity Leave
Well I work for a very big firm and they make us start our leave 2 weeks prior to our EDD and then we get 3 months off. The pay depends on if you've been here over a year. I think after so many weeks it's 60% pay. Then we have the option to take any vacay time we have remaining.
We can also request 2 weeks extra off but there is no guarentee of job security (but my group is small and it would take too long to learn what we do in that short amount of time anyway).
ETA: Of course you get I think 2 more weeks for a csection.
It's a GIRL!
I think 6 weeks is considered standard for vaginal delivery, 8 weeks for c-section. Any employers that are large enough for protection under FMLA are required to let you take off 12 weeks, but they don't have to pay you for any of it.
Most companies do not offer paid maternity leave. Some do, but they are the exception. Most do have an option for short term disability which is paid, although it's not the company paying out it is the insurance company. Do you have STD as one of your benefits? If so and you took it out prior to your pregnancy, that most often covers 6 weeks for vaginal and 8 weeks for c-section. Some policies pay out at 50%, some 2/3 pay, some 100%. It just depends on the policy your company takes out. There is usually a 1 week or 2 week wait at the beginning where you have to use your own paid time off or just not be paid before the policy kicks in as well.
I agree with PP that asking for FMLA to be honored even though it doesn't have to be would be a fair thing. FMLA gives you 12 weeks off unpaid and guarentees your job will be there when you return. Assuming your company does have STD as a benefit I probably wouldn't ask for more paid leave, since that isn't standard with most employers.
Kristen (7), Timothy (5), Robert (3), Charles (9 months)
This. However, what state are you in? In CA, we get 6 weeks of disability before the 6 weeks of FMLA. I am an associate at a very small law firm (2 partners, 2 associates, total of 7 employees). Like you, nobody has been pregnant and there is no maternity leave policy. I haven't told them yet either so we'll see what happens. However, even though we shouldn't technically get FMLA, it is my current understanding that if your firm chooses to pay into state disability (which is a choice at small firms but would be seen on your paystub), then you are automatically entitled to FMLA. However, I got this info from the CA disability website so not sure if it applies to all states.
I work in HR and we are an FMLA employer. However, our locations across the country do not meet the requirement but we still give them 12 weeks to be fair and consistent with corporate. I think 12 weeks is fair.
Also, check your state laws. Some states give additional time for ML.