Anonymous[b wrote:]I'm a newish hire[/b] and will have exhausted my paid leave within 2 weeks after childbirth. My agency allows for parents to request donated leave under its leave transfer program. The program specifies that donated leave can only be used for a "medical emergency -- i.e., the mother's period of incapacitation following childbirth (usually 6-8 weeks) or the illness of a child -- and may not be used to care for a healthy child." I'm planning on taking 12 weeks of FMLA leave, so if I rely solely on what I've accrued, only the first 2 weeks will be paid. Going into "leave without pay status" would affect my ability to accrue new leave and has some other HR consequences. Leave donation requests broadcast by my agency do not specify the medical reason for the request; rather, they just say "Jane Doe has elected to participate in the leave sharing program; if you would like to donate leave please contact HR."
My spouse thinks it would be poor form to solicit leave contributions -- assuming we have an uncomplicated childbirth -- and that while the letter of the law allows for soliciting donations, the spirit of the law reserves donations for people with cancer or other serious illnesses. My feeling is 1) that I probably won't receive much, if any, donated leave so why not ask, and 2) that only people who know me and want to help out will donate anyway.
So, greater DC parenting community, what do you think: is it gauche to solicit donated annual leave for an uncomplicated childbirth?
Don't you dare. Nope.