Good luck, OP! I had a similar situation - found out I was pregnant right before the second round of interviews for a job I later accepted. Had been unemployed and really needed a job, and knew I could do the family-friendly job while pregnant and after. So I accepted, told them I was pregnant when I'd been there about a month and they were very nice. I had to do a short maternity leave because I wasn't eligible for their paid leave, but I was able to take 6 weeks of disability at 2/3 pay. everything worked out and I've been there four years now.

And they say feds have cushy benefits. We don't even get STD or maternity leave!

OP here. Thanks everyone for all the great info/advice. If offered the job, I will accept and then tell them I am pregnant. I luckily have family that is willing to come stay and take care of the baby even if I don't get/take as much maternity leave as I would like which is also a huge relief - I wasn't sure if they would have been up for that but it turns out they are more than willing!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you would have to take leave with out pay and you would not be protected by FMLA. Also, feds don't have short term disability so you would have to use accrued leave and I don't think you accrue very much in the beginning.

Really? No STD at all or just that it doesn't cover pregnancy/birth? (Curious b/c DH is a recently hired fed).

NP here. Nope, the federal government does not offer STD. I was eligible to purchase a STD plan through Colonial Life as a member of my agency's union.

OP, you should accept the offer before disclosing.
They cannot terminate you for being pregnant.

Can they terminate you for being absent for longer than you have leave, yes. Will they, not likely.

Will you be able to take 12 weeks of leave, depends on your boss. At agency, in my team, our boss (who is more like your favorite aunt than a boss) would figure out a way to make it work.

Anonymous wrote:I think you would have to take leave with out pay and you would not be protected by FMLA. Also, feds don't have short term disability so you would have to use accrued leave and I don't think you accrue very much in the beginning.

Really? No STD at all or just that it doesn't cover pregnancy/birth? (Curious b/c DH is a recently hired fed).

I think you would have to take leave with out pay and you would not be protected by FMLA. Also, feds don't have short term disability so you would have to use accrued leave and I don't think you accrue very much in the beginning.

Take the job. Especially since you are unemployed. If you are a federal employee (versus a contractor) the benefits outweighs the risk. As many people have stated, you can get advanced sick leave. If you start when you are 5 months pregnant, and deliver near your due date, you will work 10 or 11 pay periods which means that you will have accrued about 40 hours of sick leave and 40 hours of annual leave. This will only give you two weeks off. The rest will have to come from advanced leave or leave without pay. There is a way to mix leave and leave without pay up so that you're still in work status and will continue to receive leave and medical benefits while you are out of the office. Also, if you need a clearance it may take 6 months-1 year to get a full-out clearance but most agencies will give you a provisional clearance in the meantime. Meaning that it should not take you 6-12 months to come on board.

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. I'm not a government employee, but i thought the federal law for everyone was that no employer could fire you for taking up to 6 month off after having a baby. they don't have to offer any paid leave, but they cannot fire you for taking unpaid leave. Am i mistaken?

Oh, wouldn't that be nice!!! Federal law is 12 weeks unpaid. DC law is up to 16 weeks for medical and 16 weeks for family leave. You can combine the two, but only take medical with back up from a doctor -- they'll typically give you 6 weeks for vaginal and 8 weeks for c-section. if you're on bed rest beforehand you can get more up to 32 weeks total. I'll be taking 22 weeks - 16 family + 6 medical.

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. I'm not a government employee, but i thought the federal law for everyone was that no employer could fire you for taking up to 6 month off after having a baby. they don't have to offer any paid leave, but they cannot fire you for taking unpaid leave. Am i mistaken?

To be eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave under the FMLA, you have to have worked for that employer for at least 12 months.

FMLA guarantees you the right to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain medical conditions, including birth of a child. In conjunction with your employer, the 12 weeks of unpaid leave may be substituted by other forms of leave.

The 12 week guarantee applies only if you've been there for a year and your company employs 50 or more people.

I'm confused. I'm not a government employee, but i thought the federal law for everyone was that no employer could fire you for taking up to 6 month off after having a baby. they don't have to offer any paid leave, but they cannot fire you for taking unpaid leave. Am i mistaken?

If you agency has a medical leave bank,sign up for it ASAP. I started and eight weeks later had a baby and used medical leave bank for 8 weeks of paid leave.

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure that in order to take advanced sick leave, you have to have enough money in your TSP to pay back the advanced time if you were to not come back to work to accrue leave to "pay back" the advanced leave.

I just relaized that may be in my agency's union agreement. The OPM policy just says the monetary amount would need to be refunded.

I'm pretty sure that in order to take advanced sick leave, you have to have enough money in your TSP to pay back the advanced time if you were to not come back to work to accrue leave to "pay back" the advanced leave.