Federal Maternity Leave

[Anonymous]

I'm interested in a quick poll of other federal employees out there. Is your agency/boss allowing you to use 12 weeks of sick leave (if you have it) under the Family and Medical Leave Act? The information on the OPM website seems to imply that you can only use 6 weeks for a natural birth and 8 for a cesarean (and use annual leave or unpaid leave for the rest), but it isn't totally clear. I know mothers and fathers in my agency that have used 12 weeks of sick leave when they have had their babies. What is your experience? PS - I'm also planning to use up all of my annual leave and take some unpaid leave, for a total of 5-6 months off.

[Anonymous]

Good question! I'm sorry I don't have any answers, just more questions to add to yours. It's my understanding that the FMLA allows for 12 weeks of unpaid leave within the first year of your childbirth. Can you use sick leave on top of that? For instance, can you use 3 weeks of sick leave and then 12 weeks of FMLA unpaid leave?

[Anonymous]

I think you are confusing Short term disability for pregnancy with FMLA. USually STD is 6 weeks regular birth, 8 weeks c-section, but it varies. This usually runs concurrently with FMLA of 12 weeks unpaid leave. So if have a c-section for example and also want to use FMLA and have STDis, you get:

8 weeks paid under STD (minus any sick leave youhave to use to qualify for your STD policy)
the remaining 4 weeks are covered unpaid (or using banked leave) under FMLA.

You can also take more unpaid leave but it just means they don't have to keep your job. Only you know if that matters though!

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I think I might be being dumb about this, but we're hoping my husband can use 3 weeks of sick leave when the baby is born and then 12 weeks of FMLA later in the year. From what you're saying it looks like his 3 weeks of sick leave would be under FMLA, not STD, right? Then could he use only 9 weeks of unpaid leave later in the year? I know his employer would be the one to talk to about this, we just want to know what the rules are before he does.

[Anonymous]

Most federal employees don't receive STD. So all we have is the FMLA. Under FMLA, you are entitled to 12 weeks off a year for the birth of your child. Whether you take leave during those 12 weeks, or take it unpaid, it irrelevant. You're still only entitled to 12 weeks for the birth. So, if you take 3 weeks of sick leave now for the birth now, you're not entitled to take 12 weeks later (regardless of whether you have leave).

Regarding the leave that can be used, technically, you can only use sick leave during that portion of the 12 weeks that you need to recover (or take care of a sick child - not a heathy newborn). In most cases, this means 6-8 weeks of sick leave. The remainder of the 12 weeks you're supposed to take in annual leave or leave without pay. That's because you're not recovering anymore. Many agencies/supervisors are more leniant and allow you to take sick leave for as much of the 12 weeks as you have. But legally, you're not entitled to be able to take 12 weeks of sick leave if you're not sick or recovering during that time. All the FMLA requires is that you be able to take the time off and not lose your job.

[Anonymous]

OP here. So it sounds like how much sick leave you can use is agency/manager's discretion. That is good to know. Thanks! And PP is right - as Federal Employees we don't quality for any kind of short-term disability for maternity leave.

[Anonymous]

My understanding is that they are not required to allow you to add your accrued sick/annual leave to the 12 weeks FMLA. So, even if you had 5 weeks sick leave accrued, they do not have to allow you 17 weeks (12 FMLA plus 5 sick.) That said, in my experience (after 2 maternity leaves with the gov't) most managers will let you. I have always taken 12 weeks FMLA plus whatever I had accrued, for a total of 16-20 weeks.

[LRP]

It is my understanding that the time under FMLA is separate from whatever sick or annual leave you have accrued. FMLA provides that you can have up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year to deal with family medical issues, from childbirth to taking care of a sick relative. At my agency, people are routinely allowed to clobber together their sick leave and annual leave and then add the FMLA unpaid 12 weeks on top of that. Maybe it is just agency policy, but the sick leave and annual leave you have doesn't count against the FMLA time and doesn't have to be taken immediately after the birth. For instance, I know one dad who took some FMLA leave about 3 months after his DC's birth once his wife had returned to work.

Also, it is not true that all federal employees don't qualify for STD for maternity leave. Through my agency I have STD that covers 6-8 weeks after childbirth.

[Anonymous]

I think that the PP, LRP, is right. FWIW, that is my understanding as well.

[Anonymous]

I think LRP is mostly correct, with perhaps one clarification.

"sick leave" and "annual leave" for Federal employees is paid.
FMLA is not.

In a technical sense, "sick leave" is not to be used for vacation time (at least not technically, although it may be that some managers allow it).

FMLA leave is guaranteed 12 weeks for the birth of a child. If you want to get paid for any of those 12 weeks, you can use sick leave SIMULTANEOUSLY and get paid, because at least for the first 6-8 weeks, you (the mother) has a medical condition (i.e. recovering from childbirth).

Annual leave you can take IN ADDITION to FMLA leave (so long as your manager approves it), and get paid. So, you could take 12 weeks of FMLA (get paid for 3 of it while on "sick leave") and then take an additional 4 weeks of "annual leave"

What I think you are NOT ENTITLED to do (again, some managers might allow it, but that wouldn't prevent OPM from coming back after the fact and altering your pay/leave if they decide its not kosher), is to tack on ADDITIONAL time (past the 12 weeks of FMLA) with your SICK leave.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but those are the rules as I understand them...

[Anonymous]

LRP here again, not sure if I am properly signed in. I looked around for the memo on this at work and this is what i found:

"Employees may use leave without pay (LWOP) under FMLA for the following purposes:

Birth and care of a newborn (within one year of birth);
Adoption and related activities;
Personal serious health condition; and
Serious health condition of a family member. "

and when i searched for maternity leave:

"Annual Leave
May be used for any purpose. Most commonly used for bonding time with a new baby.
Supervisors may consider advancing up to the amount the employee will accrue during the remainder of the leave year.


Sick Leave
May be used for personal medical needs or those of a family member.
Mothers commonly use sick leave for personal medical appointments, recovery from childbirth, and the baby's medical appointments.
Fathers commonly use sick leave to accompany the mother and/or baby to medical appointments, and to provide care for the mother as she recovers from childbirth.
Sick leave cannot be used for bonding purposes.
Supervisors may consider advancing up to 240 hours of sick leave.
Sick leave used for personal medical needs is recorded in e-TIME under "Sick Leave."
For family medical needs, it is recorded under "Sick Leave - Family Care." There are some limits as to how much sick leave can be used for family care purposes each leave year.


Donated Leave
If an employee exhausts both annual and sick leave, and still needs leave for personal or family medical needs, the employee may request donated leave through the Leave Bank and/or Leave Transfer programs.


FMLA
The Family and Medical Leave Act entitles most employees to up to 12 workweeks (480 hours) of leave without pay (LWOP) for birth and care of a newborn within one year of birth.
There are additional paperwork requirements to use FMLA.
Leave used for this purpose is recorded in e-TIME under "LWOP - FMLA."


LWOP
Supervisors may consider granting LWOP for short periods of time.
This is most commonly used for bonding purposes."


There is no requirement that FMLA time be taken immediately. Also, sick leave does not count against FMLA time. Sick and annual leave are paid while FMLA leave is unpaid. You can take your sick leave first during your recovery time and then add on the FMLA leave. So for example if you have 6 weeks sick leave and 6 weeks annual leave at bith, you can put those together to take 12 weeks paid. You can then immediately take up to another 12 weeks unpaid of FMLA leave or take that additional unpaid FMLA at anytime within one year of birth. OP, I would think your agency should have a similar memo to the one I copied form on its intranet or available through HR. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I think where my understanding differs with your's LRP is on the following point:

While an employee may apply to take FMLA (i.e., they can say to a boss, "my mother has cancer, and I'd like to take 6 weeks of FMLA leave"), the employer may also FORCE FMLA leave upon the employee. Employers in the private sector routinely do this to ensure that the employee will be back after 12 weeks... instead of 16 - 20.

So, if you say, "I'm taking the first 6 weeks after my baby comes as "sick" leave", the government is within its rights to say "that's fine, and we're starting your FMLA leave now too".

If you tell your employer that you are too sick to come to work because you're recovering from childbirth, you are admitting to a serious medical condition and your employer can start the FMLA clock running.

At least that is my understanding.

[Anonymous]

LRP here, again. I guess PP and I just aren't going to agree! I don't think that FMLA can be forced on an employee and that any employer who does so is not abiding by the requirements of FMLA. And, FWIW, I've never heard of anyone in the federal government having FMLA time forced on them. PP, do you know of any insatnces of this actually happening when the fed govt is the employer?

That said, what the OP needs to do is talk to her HR office to see what the policy is at her agency. I would definitely be curious to know what HR says.

[Anonymous]

15:26 here again.

Yes, I know of instances when the government has "forced" FMLA leave on people... (although mostly with lower GS-level jobs) because the FMLA is designed not ONLY to protect the employee, but also to protect the employer. Yes it guarantees that the employee has 12 weeks off and can return to her job. But it also ensures that if an employee can't (or doesn't) return to work after 12 weeks, they can LOSE their job (unless they get approved for annual leave, sick leave, LWOP, or some other discretionary leave). Employers start the FMLA clock running to make sure that they can get the employee back in a timely manner. So anytime you are out of the office for a serious health condition, they CAN start FMLA leave on you. Just to be clear, they can't force you to stay home... but what they can do is if you choose to stay home on the basis of a coverable FMLA event (care of new baby, or serious health condition), they can start the clock on your 12 weeks of FMLA leave.


Its not that common however. And most people in professional jobs in the government (especially if they're well thought of at work), have managers who work with them to accomodate their needs. I'd be more worried about this the lower your GS level is. The government (or the boss) may decide he can't live without his secretary for 5 months... and in that case, he's entitled to have you return after 12 weeks.

[Anonymous]

LRP is mistaken that FMLA can be taken after sick and annual are exhausted. I'm an employment attorney with the federal government. You are entitled to 12 weeks off for the birth of a child. If you take sick and annual leave after the birth of your child, that counts towards FMLA whether you want it to or not. You can't later invoke your FMLA rights and ask for another 12 weeks unpaid leave. It doesn't work that way. FMLA can be taken paid or unpaid - it doesn't matter. All the FMLA guarantees you is the total amount of time you are entitled to after the birth of a chid. If you have been able to take more than 12 weeks off, it's because management/agency has allowed it. You are not entitled to it under the FMLA.