maternity leave

lilpinky7878 · March 2016

I know it's early for me but I'm probably going back to work mid April only part time. I live in nj what options do I have its a small company, also may have early disability I'm a high risk.

Ps if also you can give options for my husband that would be great. He is saving his 1 week paid vaca till time comes

Jenniferk08 · March 2016

You might not have much. I know my friend worked freelance and had to go back after 2 weeks. Smaller companies do not have to offer FMLA and larger companies you need a year behind you.
Depening on what sort of company maybe see about a work from home option if possible. Same with hubby.

MSUgrad12 · March 2016

One of DH friends used his week of PTO then took the rest of the month as unpaid leave. Your husband would have to talk to HR and find out what's available

Curls919 · March 2016

Sadly, since you work for a small company you have no real set options. Has anyone gone out on leave before from your company? Or do any of your colleagues at other similar companies have set policies? I'd sit down with our boss to discuss what they expect. I worked in Manhattan when I had DS but it was a small company with no policy. I found someone who worked at a similar company who rolled vacation and sick time and ended up with 4 months off. When I presented to my bosses I asked for 3 months, which I wasn't expecting to be fully paid (I went in with prepared numbers on how many sick days I had used over the last however many years plus I had saved my vacation time that year for maternity leave). They agreed to 12 weeks for me. I ended up taking 14 (DS came three and a half weeks early and I didn't want to go back before thanksgiving). But the extension was discussed after he was born.

As for working part time, you'd just have to present your ideal plan to your boss and hope they will either agree to it or be prepared for a compromise. Depending on what you do, they may not be open to it, so be ready for that response as well.

Curls919 · March 2016

And for your husband, nj doesn't have any paternity leave that I know of. DH's company has a policy where he can take two weeks off but that wasn't in place when DS was born, he only took one week. He had also just started at the company less than a year before so he didn't even have vacation time yet. Thankfully they were open to letting him take a week due to the nature of the situation (they wouldn't have been happy if, say, he told them he wanted to go on a cruise for a week).

Hummingbird125 · March 2016

Look into NJ paid family leave and short term disability, but I don't know if working at a small company impacts whether you qualify for these. Since you won't have been at your company for a year you don't qualify for FMLA, which means that they do not have to keep your job for you.

elaur42 · March 2016

Definitely look into short term disability. NJ has its own Family Leave program separate from FMLA that pays some for 6 weeks but I'm not sure the specifics regarding company size and part time employment.

SkiChic626 · March 2016

I'm confused. I'm in NJ and this will be my second maternity leave. Surprisingly, NJ actually has some of the best leave options in the country. However, I'm not sure I understand your OP. Are you not currently working now, are you're going back part time in April, as in next month? You have to work somewhere for a year before you qualify for FMLA, but most companies will give it to you anyway to avoid legal issues. Your company also needs to be a certain size to fall under the law for FMLA, and you may have to work a certain number of hours. There's also FLA in NJ, and that has it's own set of rules.

SkiChic626 · March 2016

There's also NJ disability insurance, but it's only 6 weeks and it's only about $550/week, so it's very minimal. You do have to provide a pay stub to prove you actually make money, if you don't then you don't qualify for the insurance. And those payments, which come on a Bank of America debit card because that's super convenient apparently, do get tacted onto your taxable income, so make sure you withhold from it.

lilpinky7878 · March 2016

I am lay off since January but I plan to go back part time.

ginger819 · March 2016

I would check with your state laws. Here in Iowa we have a state law that gives a 6 week maternity leave even if you've worked somewhere less than a year (not sure about how size of the company effects it though). States can have their own set of laws adding to FMLA.

Also, dads are entitled to the same FMLA rules as moms. My DH took off 6 weeks for DD through FMLA. You might have to specifically ask for it, though. When DH first asked they said he could only take 2 weeks until he SPECIFICALLY asked for FMLA leave. He ended up using his 2 weeks vacation time and the rest was unpaid. It's a lot more uncommon for dad's to use the FMLA time.

Curls919 · March 2016

Ah I missed the part where you're not currently working. Yeah, you'd have to just talk to your new boss or HR (after you're hired) about leave. If you're part time for a small company I don't think there's much they have to give you.

lilpinky7878 · March 2016

Ty guys I will talk to my job about this situation

SkiChic626 · March 2016

@ginger819 that sounds like disability our disability insurance. Most companies have to give you disability for birth, and for vaginal it's typically 6 weeks, c-section is 8. However, that's not the same as FMLA, which protects your actual job.

Hummingbird125 · March 2016

SkiChic626 said:

There's also NJ disability insurance, but it's only 6 weeks and it's only about $550/week, so it's very minimal.

Minimal?? I assumed I would get nothing, so up to $550 a week is going to be a huge help for me. I believe you get 66% of your pay, which as actually a lot better than most US states.

ShanRum3 · March 2016

I don't have any experience in NJ, but my experience with my last baby (6 years ago) was that I had been Full-Time with my company for almost 5 years. I had 2 weeks paid vacation as well as accrued sick time and 1 day of personal time. They paid that out first, then my "extended sick pay" kicked in. It's basically a short term disability. They paid me at full pay for 2 weeks, then they paid the remainder at I think 50%. I took 8 weeks off and plan to do the same again this time.
Having been with the company for 11 years by the time this baby is born, I plan to do the same thing, but I have 3 weeks of vacation plus some vacation time left over from last year as well as more than a full week of Sick time already accrued (so that will be a lot more by August) I'm hoping that between all that and the Extended Sick Pay, that I will get full pay for the entire 8 weeks.
I would talk to your employer ASAP, so you can plan ahead, and start putting extra money back, in case you don't get paid for the time you need to take off.

SkiChic626 · March 2016

Hummingbird125 Yeah, I don't think $550 is exact, it's like $560 or $580 and change, something along those lines. And I think you're right, it's like 2/3 of your salary OR the set amount of $550 (or whatever it is this year), whichever is LESS, for those 6 weeks - I think it tells you the amount when you fill out the paperwork to apply for it. It basically paid for our groceries and some utilities for those weeks, but it wasn't anywhere near covering my salary :-( But, yes, it's definitely a lot more than you'd get in most other states, most get nothing, so it's for sure a nice perk, and I'm sure it helps us mamas in NJ extend our leave and take advantage of the NJFLA!!

SkiChic626 · March 2016

Oh, and just FYI for anyone in NJ, you cannot apply for the NJ disability insurance until your ST disability through your job has lapsed. The guidelines during my last leave were to not apply until 14 days before I plan on claiming the NJ disability insurance money. DD was born June 15th, and I think I sent in the paperwork for NJ disability insurance around August 1st. They get snippy about it if you send it too early, so dumb.

Curls919 · March 2016

@SkiChic626 - where in jersey are you? I know LilPinky is in/near Bergen county and I'm in central jersey. Just curious who else is around!

SkiChic626 · March 2016

@Curls919 I'm in north jersey, as well

elaur42 · March 2016

I'm more South - Burlington County! Nice to see so many others from NJ!

Curls919 · March 2016

I grew up in Bergen County but we are down in Middlesex County now (DH works in Monmouth Co). Glad there are so many NJ ladies here. My last BMB only had one other!!

Hummingbird125 · March 2016

@SkiChic626 - I live in NY but work in NJ, and my googling has told me I would be eligible for NJ paid family leave and for NJ short-term disability - not the NY equivalent. Do you think/know if that's right? I'm hoping it is!

They make this stuff so stupidly confusing. It angers me.

SkiChic626 · March 2016

@hummingbird125 I work with someone who lives in NY and she did not have that option.

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