I think it's extremely weird she wouldn't say what it's about so that's why I think it has to be something like others have suggested. If she was going to want to go over certain work issues (which she shouldn't be anyway), etc. wouldn't she want to give you a heads up so you could refresh, look at notes, etc? What if yo take the call while pushing your baby in a stroller? I would think that wouldn't be helpful if the call was supposed to be work related. If I were you, I would email back and say, hey, planning on pushing baby in stroller during the call, so if this si related to a specific work matter please let me know in advance so I can review things, since I won't have access to note or a computer during the call. That way you would at least have a sense of what it happening.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I know for certain that she’s not leaving and I’m not being promoted. I’m also pretty certain it’s not a reorganization or reassignment issue.

My paranoid side wonders if it could be that I’m being let go, but I think that’s extremely unlikely-just got highest ratings possible on my annual review.

Highly doubtful since you are on maternity leave. That's a law suit waiting to happen. It's probably about a client.

Op here. I know for certain that she’s not leaving and I’m not being promoted. I’m also pretty certain it’s not a reorganization or reassignment issue.

My paranoid side wonders if it could be that I’m being let go, but I think that’s extremely unlikely-just got highest ratings possible on my annual review.

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you just pick up the phone and call her?

Op here. She emailed specifically asking for an hour long t/con in the next week and wanted me to propose times. She’s usually hard to just catch on the phone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She's probably leaving and wants to tell you. Or, there's a reorg and you're about to be reassigned etc. I would take that call.

If the latter happens, start documenting shit.

You can be reorged (happened to me) or even laid off (happened to a friend) during maternity leave. I am not a lawyer, but it’s been explained to me that it’s legal as long as the company can show that pregnancy/maternity leave was not the driver behind the decision. FMLA doesn’t technically even guarantee your actual job back, as long as it’s substantially the same in pay and responsibilities (that’s what happened to me, same title and pay but different division in the company once I came back).

One of the things about FMLA is that an employer is required to accept you back to work after using FMLA. The caveat is that you are not guaranteed to be working in the same job, but that you are guaranteed to be in an equivalent job. It is acceptable for a job that has urgent requirements to fill that position with an internal candidate and offer you another equivalent position when you return.

It's possible that there was a reorg or reassignment of duties during your absence and your boss wanted to tell you personally over the phone and not send you an email or VM telling you that you are being reassigned or that someone else has taken over your work. She has no idea if you may be keeping in touch personally with co-workers and doesn't want you to hear through the grapevine or feel that she did not get a chance to talk to you about the situation.

Take the call to find out what it may be. She may be trying to do you a favor talking to you in person. If she is going to nag at you about returning early, then you can say that you will think it over and let her know by X time, then send an email around that time saying that you thought it over and with your logistics, you just can't make it work and you'll return as originally agreed.

Anonymous wrote:OMG OP! Take the call.....they can't fire you since you're FMLA, so it's something important.

They can lay her off though. This happened to a friend of mine on mat leave.

OMG OP! Take the call.....they can't fire you since you're FMLA, so it's something important.

Anonymous wrote:She's probably leaving and wants to tell you. Or, there's a reorg and you're about to be reassigned etc. I would take that call.

If the latter happens, start documenting shit.

She's probably leaving and wants to tell you. Or, there's a reorg and you're about to be reassigned etc. I would take that call.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I would take the call just to see what the heck is so important.

This, and also then if I was you, I'd report back here what was so important because now I want to know

Op here. I’m talking to her later this week and promise to report back

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I would take the call just to see what the heck is so important.

This, and also then if I was you, I'd report back here what was so important because now I want to know

I would write back and say that you're on maternity leave which is 1) unpaid, or 2) covered under FMLA, or 3) using short term disability, or 4) using paid time off, or 5) as covered in the employee manual as TIME OFF AFTER BIRTH and you are not available for conference calls or other work related tasks. The end.

No. Why would anyone else have dealt with this? She’s not our boss.

How annoying. I would take the call just to find out what’s so freaking important. If it’s not something big (promotion, boss leaving, someone died) I would politely reiterate that I’m not working on my maternity leave and not respond again.