Need Help Negotiating Maternity Leave at Non-Profit

[jonnell7]

I am trying to get as much paid maternity leave as possible but I work for a non-profit in Baltimore, MD and my boss isn't trying to give me any paid leave. She isn't even trying to completely follow FMLA because we have less than 50 employees. What should I say to her when trying to negotiate my maternity leave?

Off topic and Expectant Moms

[Anonymous]

That is too bad, but not really uncommon. And not to nitpick, but she isn't "not following FMLA." She is in full compliance with FMLA, as it doesn't apply to her.

My primary suggestion is to collect as much information as possible and present it in written form. Call up a bunch of other similar non-profits and ask about their maternity leave policy. If you can tell your boss what industry standard is, she might be more willing to meet it. (On the other hand, you might discover that industry standard is not to provide paid leave.)

You might want to leave the paid issue alone and try to negotiate on other areas. Can you get a little more unpaid leave? Can you negotiate a flexible/staggered schedule for return?

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

This is a great question and one that I have been contemplating as well. I work for a tiny non-profit (7 employees) and we have no paid maternity leave. Our Employee Handbook does say that the organization "will allow up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave (vacation, sick and/or unpaid leave)" related to a birth or adoption as long as the employee has been employed there for at least a year. So you might want to check to see what written policy exits, as well as comparing other organization's approaches. Technically your boss does not have to give you paid leave, but there may be room to negotiate in other areas, like maybe working out a flexible work schedule when you return to work. Good luck, OP.

[Anonymous]

Your employer is not obligated to offer you any leave - paid or unpaid. It stinks. As you note, FMLA applies only to companies with 50 or more employees, and it does not require any paid time off at all. That is the law of the land. That being said, have you tried as best you can to make yourself indispensable to the organization? Your best bet in these cases is to prove your worth to such an extent that your employer will be willing to offer you an attractive arrangement to keep you as an employee.

[Anonymous]

Most people don't get paid maternity leave. What's paid is sick leave, annual leave, etc. No special pay for maternity. Even under FMLA.

[Anonymous]

I'd focus on trying to use any leave and sick time you have and trying to get yourself at least 12 weeks unpaid. That is what most of us have to deal with - and you can try to argue that is standard, even if she doesn't technically have to comply with FMLA for over 50 employees.

[Anonymous]

I actually don't know anyone who had "paid" maternity leave- though it could be because I (and most of my friends) work for the govt. and we are only allowed to use our accumulated sick and annual leave for our maternity leaves. FMLA (which your organization doesn't qualify under) only entitles you to 12 weeks of unpaid leave.

[Anonymous]

Also try to find out what the practice was for any other employees who might have had children in prior years. Even if there isn't a written policy, there might be an informal one established by pattern & practice and you could use that to establish that you should have the same treatment.

[Anonymous]

OP, I've heard of some paid maternity leave, usually for private companies with more than 50 employees. I never got paid maternity leave and knew that probably wouldn't be happening. What I did was start socking away money every month I was pregnant until I had a month's worth of pay saved up. I only had one month of unpaid leave, so I just made sure I had money in the bank to cover bills during that time. One thing I did manage to negotiate was a month of working from home with help to watch my baby during working hours while after my leave was up. What I did was promise to send a status report at the end of every day and to check in regularly throughout the day, so my boss knew I was engaged and not taking advantage of the situation. It sucked, but it was definitely better than dropping my baby off at daycare at 1month. Doing that at 2months just about killed me. I'm not sure what I would have done if I had to start earlier. Just try to view things from your employer's perspective and be reasonable. If you have been working there for a while and are a strong contributor they will likely try to accommodate you at least a little -- although I doubt you'd get any paid leave. That's very uncommon. Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

Paid maternity leave is pretty rare, sadly enough, so OP, I'd stop trying to make that argument. If you have short-term disability it may give you some pay (when I was on leave I got paid 60% of my salary for 5 weeks). FLMA is really only in place for job security...it doesn't require pay, it just allows for time off without worrying that you're going to lose your job, plus it preserves your health care benefits (does not allow your employer to cancel your coverage so long as you personally continue to pay any portion of the premium that you usually pay but don't think about since it is usually deducted from your paycheck). FLMA allows for up to 3 months off. Interestingly, DC has it's own family leave act law that allows for up to 4 months off. Make sure Maryland doesn't have something special in place. Assuming not, I'd really stop with trying to get paid and just focus on getting as much time off without completely getting on your boss's bad side.

[Anonymous]

Any chance that your office has disability insurance? Some places will use the disability policy as a means of paying you partially when on mat. leave.

[Anonymous]

I have worked in the non profit field for a long time and unlike in the for profit world, paid maternity leave is pretty common. It is a perk for making such little money. BTW many nonprofits pay for full benefits (ie health, dental) for the same reason. Again, it is different from the for profit world. Since you work at a smaller org, OP, I would approach this as a negoitiation. If you have been of value to the organization they may work with you. It is easier than finding your replacement in the long run (again if you have been a valuable employee.)

The disability policy is an awesome idea as well as vacation and sick time but I disagree about "getting on your boss's bad side. As a boss myself, when my employees are up front with their requests I can at least try to see where the wiggl room might be. I prefer that over a sad new mom back at work too soon.

[jonnell7]

Thanks for the advice and comments. After I spoke with my director this morning, she gave me 3 weeks paid, 4 weeks unpaid and 4 weeks of working on "flexible, part time" schedule.

[Anonymous]

jonnell7 wrote:Thanks for the advice and comments. After I spoke with my director this morning, she gave me 3 weeks paid, 4 weeks unpaid and 4 weeks of working on "flexible, part time" schedule.

well that sounds like a good start. it couldn't hurt to go ahead and also research disability insurance. hopefully you have some vacation/sick leave that you could use for some of the 4 unpaid weeks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most people don't get paid maternity leave. What's paid is sick leave, annual leave, etc. No special pay for maternity. Even under FMLA.

I work for a large co and we only get 1 week plus whatever short-term disability policy pays. It is probably too late for this for this pregnancy but can you purchase a policy that will pay some?