Am I understanding FMLA correctly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.lawhelp.org/files/7C92C43F-9283-A7E0-5931-E57134E903FB/attachments/B2DED09B-F60E-7CD5-001B-C071AFD8DF10/205831FMLA%20Fact%20Sheet%20(Eng).pdf

There's medical leave, which you already took, and family leave, which you are presumably on now. Each is up to 16 weeks. So can be as much as 32 weeks in total.

No, no, no!

DC FMLA is 16 weeks. You can 16 weeks, but your paid 6 weeks counts as the first 6 weeks. The rest may be unpaid, if your employer doesn't offer additional paid leave.

VA is 13 weeks, one additional week to the Fed FMLA. I took 16 weeks off, an additional 4 unpaid weeks, with the consent of my employer and went back part-time. All this was arranged beforehand.

Second PP is wrong. DC FMLA is 32 weeks total, but split into 16 weeks medical and 16 weeks family care. Most people will only qualify for 6-8 weeks of medical leave (vaginal birth- c-section), so DC FMLA is typically 22-24 weeks. None of this relates to pay. This is the leave allowed for which your position, or a similar one, will be held. Whether you're paid or not has to do with the policies of your employer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.lawhelp.org/files/7C92C43F-9283-A7E0-5931-E57134E903FB/attachments/B2DED09B-F60E-7CD5-001B-C071AFD8DF10/205831FMLA%20Fact%20Sheet%20(Eng).pdf

There's medical leave, which you already took, and family leave, which you are presumably on now. Each is up to 16 weeks. So can be as much as 32 weeks in total.

No, no, no!

DC FMLA is 16 weeks. You can 16 weeks, but your paid 6 weeks counts as the first 6 weeks. The rest may be unpaid, if your employer doesn't offer additional paid leave.

VA is 13 weeks, one additional week to the Fed FMLA. I took 16 weeks off, an additional 4 unpaid weeks, with the consent of my employer and went back part-time. All this was arranged beforehand.

Yes, yes, yes! You're wrong!

[Anonymous]

Can someone who is familiar with the law explain the short-term disability and FMLA running consecutively? My employer runs short-term disability (same as medical leave and yes usually for 6 or 8 weeks) concurrent with DC's FMLA. So the total leave is 16 weeks, the first 6 of which are short-term disability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone who is familiar with the law explain the short-term disability and FMLA running consecutively? My employer runs short-term disability (same as medical leave and yes usually for 6 or 8 weeks) concurrent with DC's FMLA. So the total leave is 16 weeks, the first 6 of which are short-term disability.

Short term disability would only run concurrent with D.C. Medical FMLA. Which can be up to 16 weeks, depending on medical necessity. After you have recovered from birth, you are then eligible for 16 weeks of family leave to bond and care for your new born.

If your doc says you are disabled for 6 weeks after birth you would be approved for 6 weeks of medical fmla. Then you would have 16 weeks available for the family fmla provision. That is 22 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone who is familiar with the law explain the short-term disability and FMLA running consecutively? My employer runs short-term disability (same as medical leave and yes usually for 6 or 8 weeks) concurrent with DC's FMLA. So the total leave is 16 weeks, the first 6 of which are short-term disability.

Short term disability usually runs concurrently with your medical leave under DCFMLA but you are still entitled to an additional 16 weeks of (unpaid) family leave. FMLA simply provides job protection. Short-term disability provides some portion of your salary if you are unable to work due to a qualifying medical condition. They do different things.

[Anonymous]

"Second PP is wrong. DC FMLA is 32 weeks total, but split into 16 weeks medical and 16 weeks family care. Most people will only qualify for 6-8 weeks of medical leave (vaginal birth- c-section), so DC FMLA is typically 22-24 weeks. None of this relates to pay. This is the leave allowed for which your position, or a similar one, will be held. Whether you're paid or not has to do with the policies of your employer.

THIS is correct. DC allows up to 16 weeks of medical leave (but for vaginal is 6 and c-section is 8) and another 16 for family bonding. Whether or not you have disability or not, or are paid or not, or use vacation/sick does not matter. Feds follow FMLA, not DCFMLA.

Even if your HR says otherwise you can fight for this. My HR person told me he was certain it was 16 weeks. There is no such thing as 16 weeks in either law. Either your company follows FMLA that gives 12 weeks or DCMLA that gives the up to 16 + 16. I am not an employment lawyer but had to use an employment lawyer to get this benefit.

If your employer is denying you this benefit you can contact the Office of Human Rights: http://ohr.dc.gov/

Or you can speak to an employment attorney here: http://www.firstshift.org/ They have a monthly class at the breastfeeding center as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Second PP is wrong. DC FMLA is 32 weeks total, but split into 16 weeks medical and 16 weeks family care. Most people will only qualify for 6-8 weeks of medical leave (vaginal birth- c-section), so DC FMLA is typically 22-24 weeks. None of this relates to pay. This is the leave allowed for which your position, or a similar one, will be held. Whether you're paid or not has to do with the policies of your employer.

THIS is correct. DC allows up to 16 weeks of medical leave (but for vaginal is 6 and c-section is 8) and another 16 for family bonding. Whether or not you have disability or not, or are paid or not, or use vacation/sick does not matter. Feds follow FMLA, not DCFMLA.

Even if your HR says otherwise you can fight for this. My HR person told me he was certain it was 16 weeks. There is no such thing as 16 weeks in either law. Either your company follows FMLA that gives 12 weeks or DCMLA that gives the up to 16 + 16. I am not an employment lawyer but had to use an employment lawyer to get this benefit.

If your employer is denying you this benefit you can contact the Office of Human Rights: http://ohr.dc.gov/

Or you can speak to an employment attorney here: http://www.firstshift.org/ They have a monthly class at the breastfeeding center as well.


+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.lawhelp.org/files/7C92C43F-9283-A7E0-5931-E57134E903FB/attachments/B2DED09B-F60E-7CD5-001B-C071AFD8DF10/205831FMLA%20Fact%20Sheet%20(Eng).pdf

There's medical leave, which you already took, and family leave, which you are presumably on now. Each is up to 16 weeks. So can be as much as 32 weeks in total.

No, no, no!

DC FMLA is 16 weeks. You can 16 weeks, but your paid 6 weeks counts as the first 6 weeks. The rest may be unpaid, if your employer doesn't offer additional paid leave.

VA is 13 weeks, one additional week to the Fed FMLA. I took 16 weeks off, an additional 4 unpaid weeks, with the consent of my employer and went back part-time. All this was arranged beforehand.

NO YOU ARE IRRESPONSIBLE AND WRONG. D.C. Law is up to 16 weeks for medical leave AND up to 16 weeks for family leave. That is up to 32 weeks total. Just as the first PP who knows what she is talking about said. Sorry you didn't understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone who is familiar with the law explain the short-term disability and FMLA running consecutively? My employer runs short-term disability (same as medical leave and yes usually for 6 or 8 weeks) concurrent with DC's FMLA. So the total leave is 16 weeks, the first 6 of which are short-term disability.

My former employer does this. they've been told by lawyers it's wrong, but they continue to interpret it this way. I guess they're counting on no one suing them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone who is familiar with the law explain the short-term disability and FMLA running consecutively? My employer runs short-term disability (same as medical leave and yes usually for 6 or 8 weeks) concurrent with DC's FMLA. So the total leave is 16 weeks, the first 6 of which are short-term disability.

My former employer does this. they've been told by lawyers it's wrong, but they continue to interpret it this way. I guess they're counting on no one suing them.

Short term disability entitlement or any form of maternity is completely separate from FMLA. Your DC FMLA entitlement is 16 weeks family leave plus up to 16 weeks medical. It is not illegal to run any form of paid leave concurrently with your up to 32 weeks of unpaid leave entitlement. That up to 32 weeks is simply the amount of time they are required to hold your job open for you. Most employers who offer STD will run it concurrently with the medical portion of the FMLA, which is typically 6-8 weeks for a max of 22-24 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The part this is depressing about this to me is the idea of leave without pay. I know many people on this board are in high income families, but I'm guessing many of us are not. The flexibility of getting off work with no pay is like a fairy tale to me. My family needs my income. Hell, they could give me 6 months off, I wouldn't be able to take it if it was unpaid. Thanks to the PP who posted the DC bill link. I definitely am reviewing that now.

If you're using the second income to pay for essentials and housing there is a problem. You took on too high of housing costs or had too many children.

You're a jerk, PP. Most dual-income families in this area need both incomes.

I don't understand this. Can't you just limit your rent/mortgage to one income? It seems like if you can't do this then you're living in an area you can't afford.

You must not understand the DC area where most families/persons rely heavily on two incomes to make ends meet. Only the uber wealthy do not have this problem.

[Anonymous]

So late to the party on this post, but I am trying to understand what my options are for time-off.

I work for a DC-based company with about 125-150 employees. I am supposed to meet with HR soon to discuss my leave, and want to make sure I am as educated as possible on the issue. I am coming from a place of ZERO knowledge (FTM and none of my DC friends have kids), so these may be "duh" questions to some people, but hear me out ha.

Here are my questions:

1. Do all DC employers have to provide short-term disability? If so, is this only 6 weeks, or is it more?
2. Does short-term disability include any pay? If so, typically what is this?
3. My company offers 2 weeks paid for every 1 year of service. (I will be 1 month short of my 2 years on my due date, no idea how they will handle that!) I know this may range from employer to employer, but from your experience, do employers make you take this time concurrently with your short-term disability, or can you do disability then any leave offered?
4. Same with vacation time... how is this treated with short-term disability time off?

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Could someone provide FMLA info for MD and how it differs. Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could someone provide FMLA info for MD and how it differs. Thanks

MD does not have its own FMLA. So you and your employer would need to be covered by the FMLA. Google FMLA eligibility and FMLA covered employer. If your employer is a covered employer, and you are an eligible employee, it is 12 weeks of unpaid job protected leave (meaning they can't fire you or lay you off, unless they were going to fire or lay you off anyway).

The DOL has very good things online explaining FMLA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The part this is depressing about this to me is the idea of leave without pay. I know many people on this board are in high income families, but I'm guessing many of us are not. The flexibility of getting off work with no pay is like a fairy tale to me. My family needs my income. Hell, they could give me 6 months off, I wouldn't be able to take it if it was unpaid. Thanks to the PP who posted the DC bill link. I definitely am reviewing that now.

If you're using the second income to pay for essentials and housing there is a problem. You took on too high of housing costs or had too many children.

You're a jerk, PP. Most dual-income families in this area need both incomes.

I don't understand this. Can't you just limit your rent/mortgage to one income? It seems like if you can't do this then you're living in an area you can't afford.

Dude, look up the median household income in DC. Last I checked it's somewhere between $70/80k. Many who make this amount are DUAL incomes. So imagine cutting that HHI in half or even down to $60k. This is an expensive area and that would probably badly get you a 1BR apt in the burbs.

Seriously, you people need to think before you post, "just live somewhere cheaper!" At a certain income people are prefixes out of decent places to live. It is simple math.