I'm home...now maternity leave questions

JGo517 · August 2013

Just got home from our trip to Cali. SOOOOOO glad to be home!!! We had a great time, did a lot and now I need another vacation to recover from this one. Good thing I'm a teacher with another few weeks to go before school starts up :-) Also wanted to thank all of you ladies who gave advice on the compression socks. They helped a bit and my calves didn't feel tight.....my ankles on the other hand are still a bit of a disaster. But, I guess that's expected for this time right?!?!

Anyway, I realized that tomorrow I have a workshop to find out how my maternity leave works. I am not sure what to expect or what kind of questions to ask. Are there any other teachers (I'm elementary) out there with advice or good questions for me to ask? I know the basics of the leave. But based on what other coworkers have told me, I'm already feeling overwhelmed with all of their (NYC DOE) rules and procedures, so any help would be appreciated!!!

Thanks so much!!!!

Kim22 · August 2013

I'm a teacher in NJ and rules here are based on the contract with your district so they vary a lot. You definitely want to find out how much sick time you can use (I'm limited to 20 days before and 20 after but friends in other districts can use all they have) and how long you have your benefits for after the birth and if you can cobra them if needed. You may want to find out restrictions such as will you get to return to your same school and grade level or at what point they can reassign you. If you know any teachers in your school who recently had a maternity leave they would be great to talk to. Good luck!

MrsApplelovesMrApple · August 2013

I'm a teacher in Texas. In my district we can technically take 12 weeks but it's not paid (unless you have short term disability insurance before you get pregnant). If you want to get paid you can have 6 weeks for a vaginal birth and 8 weeks for a C-section. First they use your leave (we only get 10 days total a year) so you can have 2 paid weeks. After that is up they deduct $95/day from your pay (so 4-6 weeks at almost half your pay). Our leave balances roll over so the year I had DS1 I had 15 days saved up. However, I went on bedrest so they took those 15 days before he was born and my check was deducted for the rest.

jocie2581 · August 2013

@JGo517 I'm so jealous that you got into that workshop. I too work for the NYC DOE and the workshop was full by the time I registered (last month!). I’m a high school math teacher in The Bronx.

I spoke to someone in the UFT offices today about maternity leave and asked about the following questions below.

Let me know how helpful you find the workshop. They registered me for the next one in September, but since I'm having twins I feel like I'm unlikely to trek all the way out to Queens next month. I'm not too comfortably mobile right now.

1) Apparently maternity leave technically starts once the babies are born so what happens if I get put on bed rest and need to leave before I deliver?

He wasn't completely confident but told me to talk to my payroll secretary. And most likely I would need to complete a "Restoration of Health" OP160 Form.

2) How many CAR days can I use towards maternity leave?

While on maternity leave I can use 6 weeks for vaginal childbirth, 8 weeks for c-section.

3) How long am I covered with benefits?

A total of 12 weeks from the time I deliver.

4) Where do I get all the necessary forms to fill out?

Payroll secretary or uft.org at the bottom of the website there is a forms link.

I'm home...now maternity leave questions

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