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February 2016 Moms
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Back to Work PSA--

dragonfly321dragonfly321 member
in February 2016 Moms
found this on a fb page and figured I would share!!

PSA:

Mamas! PLEASE talk to your employer, specifically HR, about life before and AFTER you come back to work.

• will you have a place to pump? If they don't have one now, you give them enough time to figure it out by the time you come back. By law, do they have to provide one?
• will you have a refrigerator?
• altered work schedule? The expectation that you will come back to the same position and working hours.
• Are you part time? You may be entitled to some benefits.
• FMLA, do you qualify? If you're part time, you may still qualify.
• Short Term Disability (STD), do you qualify?
Does your employer offer it? Do you have to sign up or is it automatic enrollment? What's the waiting period?
Remember FMLA and STD are two different things that work together.
• FSA/HSA, are you enrolled?
• Vacation and sick/PTO payout
• When's Open/Annual Enrollment?

• If you work for a small company with less than 50 employees, things are different
• If you don't have an HR department, things are different
• And my list can go on...

Be respectful to your employer and I believe your employer will do everything they can to accommodate as long as it does not interfere with the business. It's all about communication!

Yes this is a wonderful time in our lives, but we have to remember that life goes on at work while we're out and after we return. Our lives change but it doesn't mean our jobs will.

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Re: Back to Work PSA--

  • Life is ExcitingLife is Exciting member

    Also, if you have short term disability benefits, ask if it's a straight 6 weeks or if it's 6 weeks for a vaginal delivery or 8 weeks for a C-section.  Then actually call the STD company to confirm.

    When I was pregnant with my son, my company said I'd get 6 weeks for vaginal or 8 weeks for C-section.  I had an unplanned C-section and was surprised when the check came and I only got paid for 6 weeks.  The STD company said the company had quoted the benefit wrong.  I was left holding the bag and was one fired up hormonal mess when I called my HR department to tell them about their error.

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  • mageemaaymageemaay member
    Our STD issue is similar to @Life is Exciting. They pay for 6 weeks for vaginal, 8 with C-section...but what they don't tell you up front is that you have to out of work for 2 full weeks before the benefits begin, so in truthfulness, they pay for 4 weeks with vaginal and 6 with C-section... Those tricky folks! It is definitely helpful to figure all of this out before baby is here. Whew, the stress!
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  • brushesnbrunchbrushesnbrunch member
    mageemaay said:
    Our STD issue is similar to @Life is Exciting. They pay for 6 weeks for vaginal, 8 with C-section...but what they don't tell you up front is that you have to out of work for 2 full weeks before the benefits begin, so in truthfulness, they pay for 4 weeks with vaginal and 6 with C-section... Those tricky folks! It is definitely helpful to figure all of this out before baby is here. Whew, the stress!
    That's how mine is too, it's 2 weeks or when you go into labor, whichever comes first.
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    Baby F.......02/02/2016
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  • kris10mackris10mac member
    @mageemaay @brushesnbrunch I'm jealous yours is two weeks. Ours is four, 20 working days, for it to kick in. So really you're only getting two weeks of STD. And even then it's 60% of pay. I'm making sure I have 4 weeks PTO to bridge the gap. It sucks. Usually take a bunch of time at the holidays. Nada to that this year since I gotta save up.
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  • brushesnbrunchbrushesnbrunch member
    Yeah, I think I lucked out on that front. I don't think I have enough PTO to cover the gap though which sucks...
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    Married.....09/08/2012
    Baby F.......02/02/2016
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  • pbtoastpbtoast member
    And I have no STD at all so I'm jealous of all of you!
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  • bublesmiledbublesmiled member
    I wish I got paid time off.  I own my own business, and as a business owner (at least in NJ) I can not collect disability or unemployment, so any time I take off is unpaid. My plan is to do the same I did last time - take off 2 weeks full time and go back part time for the last 4 weeks.  My hard part will be finding childcare 2 weeks in since my mom doesn't live local anymore.

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  • robinj716robinj716 member
    My company will let you use STD after you use up all of your PTO. Fortunately for me I have enough sick time banked that I don't have to worry about it. Unfortunately, I will be draining all of my PTO and be starting back at 0 when I return.
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  • DrillSergeantCatDrillSergeantCat member
    @dragonfly321 thank you for posting this. When I initially asked HR she didn't mention a waiting period. I asked again and I have a 1 week waiting period so I'll use my PTO that week. I would have never known if it weren't for you. :x

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  • Life is ExcitingLife is Exciting member
    mageemaay said:

    Our STD issue is similar to @Life is Exciting. They pay for 6 weeks for vaginal, 8 with C-section...but what they don't tell you up front is that you have to out of work for 2 full weeks before the benefits begin, so in truthfulness, they pay for 4 weeks with vaginal and 6 with C-section... Those tricky folks! It is definitely helpful to figure all of this out before baby is here. Whew, the stress!

    You might want to check on that with your HR department or short-term disability company. When I had my son, there was a one week waiting period before short-term disability kicked in, but after that, I still got the full six weeks of short-term disability. So it up being seven weeks plus whatever I took afterwards
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  • dragonfly321dragonfly321 member
    @DrillSergeantCat glad I could be of assistance ;;)
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