FMLA question

aetg · June 2014

I'm not going to mention my pregnancy til August so well after the 12 weeks, but I'm wondering. Those of you who took the full 3 months of FMLA did you bring that up with your job immediately or did you wait until you went on maternity leave? Last time I only took 5 weeks so I'm wondering what the best policy is.

Part of the problem is that my husband is due for a big promotion, but not until someone else retires at the end of this year. If he isn't promoted, I don't know that I can swing the time financially so I won't know for sure until the end of this year if I can take that much time off.

welly01 · June 2014

I would at least mention it starting around 6 months, just so they can sort of plan and have an idea how long you'll be gone. I think FMLA paperwork needs to be submitted starting 30 days before you need to go out on leave. However, I think you could probably fill it out a few weeks (or maybe even days) before. Also, even if you request the full 12 weeks, I would assume most employers would be happy to have you come back earlier.

Amelia4 · June 2014

Exactly what @welly01 said. I'd go for the full 12 weeks and shorten it if needed.

aetg · June 2014

I should mention that I'm also not sure if they will find someone to take over my spot while I'm gone or if they will find a temp. They might be excited to not pay part of my salary even though I have prep all the work ahead of time or they might be annoyed they have to find someone to cover.

[Deleted User] · June 2014

welly01 nailed it.

I would tell them you plan on doing the full 12 weeks with the option to come back sooner. Part of what makes FMLA work is that employers know a plan ahead of time so that your workload can be dispersed without hiring a new person to replace you.

welly01 · June 2014

aetg said:

I should mention that I'm also not sure if they will find someone to take over my spot while I'm gone or if they will find a temp. They might be excited to not pay part of my salary even though I have prep all the work ahead of time or they might be annoyed they have to find someone to cover.

You shouldn't worry about who will do your job while you're gone. They will figure it out. IMO, that shouldn't be considered in your decision of how long to take.

MammaBear81 · June 2014

welly01 said:

aetg said:

I should mention that I'm also not sure if they will find someone to take over my spot while I'm gone or if they will find a temp. They might be excited to not pay part of my salary even though I have prep all the work ahead of time or they might be annoyed they have to find someone to cover.

You shouldn't worry about who will do your job while you're gone. They will figure it out. IMO, that shouldn't be considered in your decision of how long to take.

While I *mostly* agree with this, I did take leave (once) where they just let all my stuff pile up for months and it was overwhelming when I got back- I'm not saying she shouldn't take the full 12 weeks, but if she is going to stress about work when she is not there she should take it into consideration. Now my position can't be "left alone" for 3 months so they found a temp for the 9 weeks I was out

.

aetg · June 2014

MammaBear81 said:

welly01 said:

aetg said:

I should mention that I'm also not sure if they will find someone to take over my spot while I'm gone or if they will find a temp. They might be excited to not pay part of my salary even though I have prep all the work ahead of time or they might be annoyed they have to find someone to cover.

You shouldn't worry about who will do your job while you're gone. They will figure it out. IMO, that shouldn't be considered in your decision of how long to take.

While I *mostly* agree with this, I did take leave (once) where they just let all my stuff pile up for months and it was overwhelming when I got back- I'm not saying she shouldn't take the full 12 weeks, but if she is going to stress about work when she is not there she should take it into consideration. Now my position can't be "left alone" for 3 months so they found a temp for the 9 weeks I was out .

Exactly. If I'm taking 6 weeks unpaid, I'm not going to be super impressed if I have to do all the work beforehand.

kikimeemee · June 2014

I'm in HR and we never ask moms-to-be how long they plan to be out on FMLA. After 5-6 weeks of hearing baby was born we usually do a check-in call to see how things are going and let mom know when the max date will be (12 weeks). At that point we ask how long one might continue to be off. Majority of moms don't seem to know how long they'll be off until baby actually arrives -- at least that it what I've experienced in my years. I also check in with mom within first 30 days to get baby on insurance pronto.

welly01 · June 2014

ArkansasMom22 said:

After having a baby FMLA is used two ways. The first part is medical leave, typically 6 weeks for vaginal birth and 8 weeks for c-section, so many employers will assume you will be out atleast that long since there is medical documentation and a return to work letter needed. After the medical portion it then changes to family (parental) leave, which not everyone uses.

I think you're thinking of short term disability. For most employers FMLA and STD run concurrently but they are still two separate things. FMLA offers 12 weeks of unpaid leave for covered medical/life events, during which time your employer can't terminate you. The leave is 12 weeks regardless of delivery method. Even an adoptive parent would be qualified for 12 weeks of leave.

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