Maternity Leave

daniellepanda · January 2015

Last time I took 16 weeks and plan to do the same this time. I am in California and qualify for state disability insurance pay, and then paid family leave.

4 weeks off before due date, first week not paid at all by the state (the waiting period) I will use a week of accrued pto for that week.
Then 6 weeks state disability pay from date of birth, or 8 weeks for c/s. State disability here in California is about 60% of your gross income, so not taxed and no health insurance taken out so it feels like 80% not 60%.
Then 6 weeks paid family leave through fmla. Same deal as state disability and pay, just comes from a different location.

I cannot fathom only taking 4 weeks. Between waking every 1-2 hours for feedings, etc I would be a hot mess at work! It was bad enough at 12 weeks after! Haha

Catcherryesux · January 2015

We got no maternity leave at my old job when I was last pregnant. It did fall under FMLA so I was able to take up to 12 weeks, but it was unpaid. There's no law that forces employers to offer paid time off for maternity leave in the U.S. I had 4 weeks saved of PTO then went took 6 weeks unpaid.

Unknown · January 2015

This content has been removed.

lafsalot · January 2015

With DD, I took 7 weeks leave using 2 days of disability and the rest PTO. We had her just before thanksgiving so holidays were paid. Then I worked from home for 3 months. With this one, I will use 3 weeks of PTO, and fill in with disability benefits, then stay at home until probably November. I have a great deal of flexibility in whether I work from home or go to the office (which is 4 blocks from my house).

ShellyR · January 2015

I'm supposed to start a new position with a different institution one month before I'm due. I will be lucky to be offered any leave because they may say 'no thanks, go away' when they find out about baby in a few weeks.

hopefulreturn · January 2015

I get 10-12 weeks off unpaid. I can use some sick days within that, those cap at 20, and I want to be sure to leave enough for winter with a baby in daycare. The unpaid leave and paying to cover insurance while I'm out stresses me out.

MouseMama817 · January 2015

4 weeks seems extremely short to me as well. I work at a major financial company that offers 12 paid weeks. I would definitely file for FMLA in the event you need more time. Best of luck

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efunk21 · January 2015

supersam1990 said:
Wow.. Four weeks! That definitely seems a bit short. I live in Canada and we have a full year at a least 80% of pay and then topped off with EI. I know in Quebec they have two years at at least 70%- as soon as you get a bfp you can go on Mat leave!

Best of luck to my American mothers- I pray you get at least 12 weeks!

You'll want to look into this. The time and percentages you quoted are not correct. For example in Quebec where I live your first 17 weeks are paid out at something like 70% of a max of 66k annual salary and after the 17 weeks you drop to 55%. For example if you make 50k per year you'll get $673 per week before taxes for the first 17 weeks.

Quebec gets the highest EI for mat leave so if you're in another province, I'd definitely investigate or you'll be shocked when you get your first cheque.

thehurricaine · January 2015

efunk21 said:

Wow.. Four weeks! That definitely seems a bit short. I live in Canada and we have a full year at a least 80% of pay and then topped off with EI. I know in Quebec they have two years at at least 70%- as soon as you get a bfp you can go on Mat leave! Best of luck to my American mothers- I pray you get at least 12 weeks!
You'll want to look into this. The time and percentages you quoted are not correct. For example in Quebec where I live your first 17 weeks are paid out at something like 70% of a max of 66k annual salary and after the 17 weeks you drop to 55%. For example if you make 50k per year you'll get $673 per week before taxes for the first 17 weeks. Quebec gets the highest EI for mat leave so if you're in another province, I'd definitely investigate or you'll be shocked when you get your first cheque.

@efunk21 - I'm in BC so I get the usual basic Canadian EI amount. It's not much and easy to top out on (it's like 45% of your income up to a max of something like $400/week - I can't remember the exact amounts and they change annually). However, my employer tops this up. So I get 85% for the first 15 weeks, and then 75% for the rest of the year. It can vary widely from employer to employer (a friend of mine and I are both in the same union but different components and were surprised at the differences between our benefits). I would imagine that's what the previous poster was referring to.

efunk21 · January 2015

@hdenglish Yep, exactly my point. Varies province to province, and without top up from the employer it nowhere reaches 80%. Oh and employers are not obligated to top up, wish mine would but alas.

And totally agree with your "the rules constantly change" comment. Wading through the provincial EI websites is not fun!

Leezuhhl · January 2015

As a FTM, I had no idea where to start at first. Ha! Live in the Washington, DC area and work for a big company. I will get 12 weeks of paid leave but considering using my 5 weeks of vacation, too. It feels unfair that we aren't given at least 6 months with our babies. Don't even get me started on childcare as the DC area is already expensive enough!

kjbrungot7 · January 2015

If you are covered by FMLA, you should get 6-8 weeks, but whether you get paid depends on your employer. My employer does not give paid maternity leave. If I was covered by FMLA, I would get 6 weeks unpaid maternity leave after I used up all of my sick days. Unfortanately, since I am due a month before I would have worked for this employer for a consecutive year, I will not be covered under FMLA. Check with your HR.

jennspit · January 2015

The FMLA rules changed recently. I think that's where some are getting confused. It is now 12 weeks unpaid leave with your benefits staying exactly the same as if you were working. That will protect your job and your benefits. Look it up on the federal website and read it for yourselves so you are informed about your rights.
Small businesses don't have to follow.
I work in HR for a local government and we don't get any paid maternity leave so I have to use all my own time if I want to get paid. Thank god I have 12 weeks of time saved up.

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