Fmla

Take a look at this link, it details the law of FMLA. I took it with my first child.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/statutes/whd/fmla.htm#SEC_102...

A.

According to the FMLA you do have to have a total of 12 months of employment with the employer of more than 50 people. IT does not have to be continuous though. The FMLA website is www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/ - which has a pretty good q @ a section addressing maternity issues.

Nisha,
It is fine if you get pregnant before the year is up. Your FMLA will start (typically) when you have the baby. If you are not pregnant now, It still takes 9 months to have a baby, then time wise you will be fine if you start trying after being at your job 3 months. If your healthcare is through your job, just make sure that it does not have a pregnancy exclusion for the 1st year.

Nisha,

I would check with my HR Department if I were you. They should have handouts or an employee handbook that lists the benefits with FMLA and such. With the company that I work for you have to work a certain number of hours per year to qualify for paid FMLA. Each company is different although I do know that they have to give you FMLA but they do not have to pay you for it.

Good luck.

Dear Nisha,

HOpe this helps!

Synopsis of Law
Covered employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee;
for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.
(a) An employer covered by FMLA is any person engaged in commerce or
in any industry or activity affecting commerce, who employs 50 or more
employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar
workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. Employers covered
by FMLA also include any person acting, directly or indirectly, in the
interest of a covered employer to any of the employees of the employer,
any successor in interest of a covered employer, and any public agency.
Public agencies are covered employers without regard to the number of
employees employed. Public as well as private elementary and secondary
schools are also covered employers
(a) An ``eligible employee'' is an employee of a covered employer
who:
(1) Has been employed by the employer for at least 12 months, and
(2) Has been employed for at least 1,250 hours of service during the
12-month period immediately preceding the commencement of the leave, and
(3) Is employed at a worksite where 50 or more employees are
employed by the employer within 75 miles of that worksite. (See
Sec. 825.105(a) regarding employees who work outside the U.S.)
(b) The 12 months an employee must have been employed by the
employer need not be consecutive months. If an employee is maintained on
the payroll for any part of a week, including any periods of paid or
unpaid leave (sick, vacation) during which other benefits or
compensation are provided by the employer (e.g., workers' compensation,
group health plan benefits, etc.), the week counts as a week of
employment. For purposes of determining whether intermittent/occasional/
casual employment qualifies as ``at least 12 months,'' 52 weeks is
deemed to be equal to 12 months.
(c) Whether an employee has worked the minimum 1,250 hours of
service is determined according to the principles established under the
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for determining compensable hours of
work (see 29 CFR Part 785). The determining factor is the number of
hours an employee has worked for the employer within the meaning of the
FLSA. The determination is not limited by methods of recordkeeping, or
by compensation agreements that do not accurately reflect all of the
hours an employee has worked for or been in service to the employer. Any
accurate accounting of actual hours worked under FLSA's principles may
be used. In the event an employer does not maintain an accurate record
of hours worked by an employee, including for employees who are exempt
from FLSA's requirement that a record be kept of their hours worked
(e.g., bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees
as defined in FLSA Regulations, 29 CFR Part 541), the employer has the
burden of showing that the employee has not worked the requisite hours.
In the event the employer is unable to meet this burden the employee is
deemed to have met this test. See also Sec. 825.500(f). For this
purpose, full-time teachers (see Sec. 825.800 for definition) of an
elementary or secondary school system, or institution of higher
education, or other educational establishment or institution are deemed
to meet the 1,250 hour test. An employer must be able to clearly
demonstrate that such an employee did not work 1,250 hours during the
previous 12 months in order to claim that the employee is not
``eligible'' for FMLA leave.
(d) The determinations of whether an employee has worked for the
employer for at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months and has been
employed by the employer for a total of at least 12 months must be made
as of the date leave commences. If an employee notifies the employer of
need for FMLA leave before the employee meets these eligibility
criteria, the employer must either confirm the employee's eligibility
based upon a projection that the employee will be eligible on the date
leave would commence or must advise the employee when the eligibility
requirement is met. If the employer confirms eligibility at the time the
notice for leave is received, the employer may not subsequently
challenge the employee's eligibility. In the latter case, if the
employer does not advise the employee whether the employee is eligible
as soon as practicable (i.e., two business days absent extenuating
circumstances) after the date employee eligibility is determined, the
employee will have satisfied the notice requirements and the notice of
leave is considered current and outstanding until the employer does
advise. If the employer fails to advise the employee whether the
employee is eligible prior to the date the requested leave is to
commence, the employee will be deemed eligible. The employer may not,
then, deny the leave. Where the employee does not give notice of the
need for leave more than two business days prior to commencing leave,
the employee will be deemed to be eligible if
the employer fails to advise the employee that the employee is not
eligible within two business days of receiving the employee's notice.
(e) The period prior to the FMLA's effective date must be considered
in determining employee's eligibility.
(f) Whether 50 employees are employed within 75 miles to ascertain
an employee's eligibility for FMLA benefits is determined when the
employee gives notice of the need for leave. Whether the leave is to be
taken at one time or on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule basis,
once an employee is determined eligible in response to that notice of
the need for leave, the employee's eligibility is not affected by any
subsequent change in the number of employees employed at or within 75
miles of the employee's worksite, for that specific notice of the need
for leave. Similarly, an employer may not terminate employee leave that
has already started if the employee-count drops below 50. For example,
if an employer employs 60 employees in August, but expects that the
number of employees will drop to 40 in December, the employer must grant
FMLA benefits to an otherwise eligible employee who gives notice of the
need for leave in August for a period of leave to begin in December.
[60 FR 2237, Jan. 6, 1995; 60 FR 16383, Mar. 30, 1995]

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You have to be with the company 12 months before you have the child, not before you get pregnant.

Nisha,

As of 4 years ago when I was in HR it was a 12 months of employment to qualify for FMLA.

I too was at a new employer when we planned to have our second child. I didn't plan as far ahead as you are doing now and had our 2nd baby in under a year of employment with the company. Although I did receive STD I didn't qualify for FMLA.

Take care.
F.

FMLA goes into effect after you have been employed with a company/firm for twelve months and have worked 1250 hours within that 12 months. The law states that you may return to work in the same or similar position after your leave. The leace is unpaid unless the employer has made some type of provisions for paid time or allows you to use vacation or sick time. You shoudl ask the HR/benefits department at your company for more details. Hope that helps.

Nisha:
Being a benefits consultant, I do know FMLA fairly well. In order to qualify for FMLA, your company needs to have 50 or more employees. If not, you will not qualify for FMLA. You need to work 1250 hours within a 12 month period.

hope it helps!

Depends alot on the employer as well. I was working with our firm (that had less than 50 employees) for less than four months, and they gave me the 3 months maternity leave (without pay), but nothing else. I was in consulting, and wanted to be with my son (my first baby), so I quit the job soon after the first month. The employer was nice about it, as I had alredy discussed the option of quitting/extending the leave prior to the start of the maternity leave. If you have someone you know/ or is good to talk to amongst your superiors, have a discussion with them prior to the maternity leav(I think you have to give one month notice), and discuss your options. Good luck!

Where I taught, FMLA didn't apply til after 1 year. Not sure if that is for all places. I am sure some places do have better benefits. You will have to review the human resources information from your employer, it should all be stated in there. I found out that I could only take 6 weeks off and that is all they gave me.
Good luck.
A.

I was in a similar situation. And if you REALLY want to keep your exact job, hold off as best as you can getting pregnant. You have to be employed for 1 year (1200 hours or something) and your company has to have over 50 employees for you to be eligible. Now, I was shy 3 weeks. My company still gave me FMLA but if need be, it wouldn't hold up in court. What FMLA gives you is 12 weeks UNPAID leave and a job that is comparable to yours when you return. Over the course of FMLA, you can apply for short term disability. It's typically 6 weeks for natural birth and 8 for c-section that they'll pay you short term disability. That is separate. Good luck!

Check out the US Dept. of Labor website at http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/ - it has a bunch of information on the FMLA in the Frequently Asked Questions section(discusses number of hours/months required to work and which employers are required to follow the FMLA - i believe its companies with 50+ employees must comply and the employee must work 1250 hours in a 12 month period). hope this helps!

You only need to be employed there a year before FMLA is vaild. so you could get pregnant after you are at your job 3-4 months, and still qualify. Some comapnies will give you FMLA if you haven't been there a year, but are not legally required to do so. Hope this helps!

Yep, the law states that only employees who work full time for 12 months or more are eligible for FMLA. This just means that you have legal protection that gives you 6 weeks maternity leave and the company must hold your job for your rerturn.

I am a manager for a large company and we offer Personal Leave of Absence or Medical Leave of Absence for part time employees and employees who have worked less than 12 months. This doesn't provide government legal protection, but it is a written agreement between the employee and management that time off for childbirth is planned and agreed upon. In my company that agreement is up to management discretion. My company also allows for 6 weeks of baby bonding time in addition to 6 weeks maternity leave. The bigger issue is that you want to sign up for short term disability insurance before becoming pregnant. This allows you to be paid 60%-70% (in most cases) of your salary while on medical leave. Its the number one thing most women forget to do prior to becoming pregnant (at least in my experience with female employees).

Hi Neena,
My name is S. and I work in HR dept with a certification in payroll. It is true you must be employed for one year before you are entitled to FMLA. However, check with your employer to see if they offer maturnity loa or a short term disability. Hoepfully this information helps.

Nisha,

In order to qualify for FMLA you must work with your current employer for either 1 year or have worked 1250 hours. FMLA is an "unpaid" leave that helps you keep your employment within your company. You may be able to use your short term disability benefits to cover a percentage of your income during your maternity leave. But weigh all of these things before you and your husband plan to conceive. Speak with your HR representative at work and they can provide you company specific policies. But the FMLA information I listed before is federal act, so you must qualify before you can take advantage of the benefit.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

Unfortunately you heard right - 12 months. :(