No Maternity Leave or SHort Term Disability at Work!!!

[Anonymous]

I am 7 weeks pregnant with my second child. When I had my first, I worked for a larger company with great benefits (6 weeks "maternity leave" which was covered by short term disability) I now work for a much smaller company (less than 20 employees) that has nothing of the sort. I thankfully have good health benefits but they have no other coverage. I still haven't told my boss I am pregnant yet until I get my first sono this week but this is something I need to start planning for now. Has anyone ever run into this situation? Are they required to hold my position until after I return from having the baby? Are there any independent companies that assist with this? I will be able to save some money between now and the delivery but even when I was only making 2/3 of my pay on disability with my first it was hard, I can't imagine making no money with 2 children for 6 weeks. Any help is appreciated!!

[Anonymous]

I dont know of any programs that pay you but most jobs will let you use any vacation and sick time to cover your leave - after that it is unpaid.

Also, if you are in DC, FMLA (the law) only requires an office to hold your position open if they have more than 20 employees and you have been there longer than a year. Otherwise, I dont think they have to guarantee you your job. I would hope most companies wouldnt fire you, but legally they dont have to keep you either.

In MD and VA, the laws might be different, you should google FMA for VA and MD to find out.

When you tell your boss, try to have some suggestions in mind for th best way to hold onto your job, and perhaps get paid while you are out. Maybe they could advance you some sick or vacation time, or you could work part-time or from home.

Good luck

[Anonymous]

Does your employer have any sort of family leave policy at all? I know some places I've worked at have had family leave policies that have included maternity leave, rather than a separate maternity leave policy. If your employer is too small to qualify for DC's family leave law (which it sounds like it is) and for FMLA, then I think unfortunately you may be out of luck on them being required to hold your position...is there anyone at work you'd feel comfortable asking about any precendent there might be for maternity leave, maybe an HR person? Even if there's no policy, you're likely not the first employee to have a child, and it could be very helpful to know how things have been done in similar situations in the past. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

There is the Family Leave Act that requires employers to give a 12 week maternity leave (paid or unpaid at their discretion, so if it's unpaid it's only about job security), but the Act only applies to employees who have worked for the company for at least 1 year and to employers who have at least 50 employees within 75 miles, so it sounds like it would not apply to your company since they have less than 20 employees. Anyway, here is the info on the Family Leave Act:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/posters/fmlaen.pdf
To my knowledge, the Family Leave Act is the only Act that protects women during maternity leave, unless there is some other legislation in the State you are in.

[Anonymous]

OP:Nobody here knows anything about it-There is only 1 other female that has been here for only 5 months. We are in VA and have 14 employees. I have been here over a year which is a plus but still not a guaruntee of saving my job. My boyfriend works here at the same company and is out on workers comp and they are doing everything they can to find a reason to fire him when he gets back. (Why? I don't know, it's not like they are technically paying for him while he's out) It's just scary, but I will have to sit down and talk to him Friday. The owner acts handles HR complaints although I do all the HR paperwork such as background checks and employee documents. Sheesh, this small company stuff sucks...and now it's scary on top of that! LOL! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Double check with the HR dept., but I don't think STD (short term disability) covers maternity leave - I am fairly sure you PHYSICALLY have to be disabled for STD - like a car accident, pneumonia, surgery, etc. Caring for an infant and recovering from childbirth may not trigger STD.

If you have a c/s, however, your recovery time may be long enough (especially with a doc. note) to activate STD, but even then it really isn't enough to think of it as maternity leave time.

Also, keep in mind, some companies have a 7 day period of either PTO or no-pay at all (if you don't have enough PTO) before STD kicks in. That way your "illness" is sorta validated.

But like I said, it's best to double check as this is a very specific question for your company.

[Anonymous]

I took a STD policy at my workplace because I don't receive any maternity leave benefits (non-profit). Mine does cover pregnancy, because I spoke to the benefits representative and she verified this. I think the STD gives me 4-5 weeks pay, and my vacation/sick should cover another few weeks.

I'm uncertain if they'd consider the pregnancy a pre-existing condition since you currently know about it (?) I'd defintitely seek out HR.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

FYI--I also have ST disability, which pays 50% for 5 weeks for a "normal" childbirth, and for 7 weeks for a c-section. More if there are more complications. So, it seems that ST disability programs vary from company to company...worth checking in to.

[Anonymous]

Employment lawyer here. Just to clarify the confusing FMLA advice...

Generally, an employee can take the "better" deal they get under the Federal FMLA, or their individual state FMLA-- but you must make sure you qualify. In both cases (at least for the DC "state" FMLA, and the federal FMLA), it is primarily a job security law, that permits you to take 12 (Federal) or 16 (DC) weeks off -- UNPAID. As someone mentioned, the Federal FMLA only applies to companies with more than 50 employees... so that probably won't help you. The DC FMLA kicks in at 20 employees (but there are other requirements, like the length of time you've worked there, etc.)

[Anonymous]

unfortunately VA is an "at will" employer state which means they can terminate your employment "at will" at any time with or without cause. So, your employer can fire you any day of the year for any reason - or even for no reason at all. I suggest you do what a previous poster said and come up with some suggestions of what to do with your work while you are out. If they don't have any policy on paying you while you are out for a few weeks, maybe they can afford to hire a temp to do your job while you are out? When are you due? Maybe you can find a student who will be home from college for the summer to fill in for you for a few weeks/months? Do you have friends that work at similarly-sized organizations? Ask what their policies are and fashion something similar that you think would work for your organization and propose it to your boss. I work in HR and I am responsible for my company's FMLA and leave policies. If someone comes to me with a reasonable, well thought-out proposal for a new or updated policy, I am much more likely to make a change than when someone presents me with an issue and asks me to devise a plan around it. I am a woman and soon-to-be mom and I want what is best and what is fair but honestly I get pulled in a million different directions each day so if someone makes it easier for me I'm much more likely to push through the change.

Also, you need to find out whether you have STD insurance. It might not help you keep your job but it could help with some income. The policy has to have been in place prior to you getting pregnant - otherwise the pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition and won't be covered. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I work for a company with 4 employees and no maternity leave. Because I had been there a long time, they gave me a three month unpaid leave of absence. I also had to pay my share of the health care premium for those 3 months. I saved my vacation and sick time so that I had about four weeks paid. The moment I found out I was pregnant we started banking a portion of my salary so that it would equal the two months unpaid portion. It stinks, but I knew this when I started working there. The upside is that I have an interesting job with a good schedule and flexibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Double check with the HR dept., but I don't think STD (short term disability) covers maternity leave - I am fairly sure you PHYSICALLY have to be disabled for STD - like a car accident, pneumonia, surgery, etc. Caring for an infant and recovering from childbirth may not trigger STD.

STD does cover maternity leave (although I guess it's a good reminder to double check this). I work for a private employer in Maryland, and they way I got paid for a part of my maternity leave was through STD. Our policy covered exactly the same for vaginal birth and c-section, but some policies let you have longer for c-section.

[Anonymous]

Given how you portrayed your employer, I would wait as long as possible to communicate thatyou are pregnant.

When you do, I would be prepared with a plan. For example.....
I am planning on taking 6 weeks off and would like to return to work part time for the next 6 weeks. I feel that this will allow me to support the firm in the critical parts of my job and that you will be able to get a part-time temp to pick up the non-technical issues during this period of time. Also, tell them how much you love the company feels like family etc etc.

Good luck

[Anonymous]

I was on STD while on maternity leave. The company I work for has unlimited sick time, and we're required to claim sick time for the first 6 days, and I was on disability for 8 weeks thereafter at full pay. After 6 months of STD, LTD kicks in at 80%.

[Anonymous]

MANY STD policies require that you be on them for a year prior to claiming pregnancy benefits. So check that as well.

Your employer sounds really dicey though. Here's what I would do:

1) Make plans for a worse-case scenario: i.e., that you will be terminated when you give birth.
2) Once you have those in place, figure out the best way to come up with a leave plan that will be attractive to your employer. I would not even hope for paid leave based on what you are saying.
3) Wait as long as possible before telling your employer you're pregnant... but DEFINITELY do it before he/she is going to become suspicous on his/her own accord. This affords you some protection, because even though the company may not have to "hold" your job for you while you're out, they cannot fire you for being pregnant. Those are tough cases to prove, but to start with, you need to show that your employer KNEW you were pregnant, and then moved to terminate you because of it. If you TELL him (preferably in writing) that you're pregnant, you make it much harder for them to fire you prior to your giving birth.

Also - save up your leave (if you have any) -- some employers will allow you to use sick/vacation leave to create a paid maternity leave.