Fmla - Gurnee,IL

No, My OB's office put 6-8 weeks on the paperwork too but I was still able to take my 12 weeks of maternity leave.

The way it worked for me was that I had to exhaust my ST Disability, then all vacation and then I took the balance of the combined time to = 12 weeks total....

To qualify for FMLA, you have to have worked for the same company for at least 1 year.
You are starting a new job.
You will not be eligible for FMLA.
The time your Doctor 'incapacitates' you... is a Doctor decision... that has nothing to do with FMLA, for which you do not qualify for.

The 6-8 weeks, your Doctor is writing you up for, is for maternity. For which you will not be paid, under FMLA...
if you then want to take 12 weeks INSTEAD... 4 more weeks beyond what your Doctor wrote you up for... you have to speak to your Employer about that. They do not "have to" agree with that. And even if they do, it will not be paid. Usually.

And this will be a 'new' job for you... so... as the other poster said... you have to speak to them about if you have a probationary period before you qualify for your Employee benefits, and medical benefits.

So you have several issues to figure out.
Not just your maternity and how much time you want to take off.
Regardless, you will NOT be covered under FMLA... and if you do 'expect' it to be a 'paid' maternity leave for those 6-8 weeks... well you better really speak to your Employer about that. You will only be a new employee at that point, when your due date is... etc.
You also have to think about WHEN your Employer medical insurance coverage will kick in... and IF it will be soon enough, by the time you take off at those 6-8 weeks, and by the time you give birth etc.

Maybe you should consider asking your new employer if you can just start work at 12 weeks after the baby is due to be born. It seems kind of strange to get a new job, then right away take several weeks off to have a baby. I think your first impression with this new employer will be better if you just wait to start until after you've taken your recovery time from delivering.

I'm afraid you won't qualify for FMLA. You have to have logged so many hours, etc with an employer and even then there are other qualifying factors. Your doctor may well be anticipating 6-8 weeks recovery time after birth, but that would fall under regular guidelines for state disability barring any complications.

It's unfortunate, but many doctors are not aware of FMLA laws. They may assume you're entitled to it, but it's not always the case. I wasn't entitled to FMLA leave because of the size of the company I worked for and I'd been there two years. My company had the right to say, "We will not grant you unpaid time off".

You should google FMLA laws for your state and make sure that your employer is even flexible about how much time you take. In many instances, when you are released by your physician to return to work, whether you do or not becomes entirely up to you.

Best wishes!

Since Illinois does not offer a separate maternity leave law you will fall under federal FMLA laws. However, you will not qualify for FMLA as you will not have been employed for 52 weeks prior to the requested leave. It will be completely up to the generosity of your new employer as to whether they let you take any time off.

First of all if you have not been with the employer for a year or if the employer doesn't have a certain number of employees you may not qualify for any FMLA. I would discuss this with your human resources department before you make any decisions on taking leave. Another thing you will have to think about is if they have a probationary period of 3 or 6 months (standard time). If you are off during this time you may lose your job and really can't do anything about it, but if it is a good employer you shouldn't have much to worry about. I would also ask if your probationary time stops when you are on leave or does it continue? You are in a tricky situation. I wish you the best.

I don't have an answer about FMLA. I wish you the absolute best. But as a caregiver for the last 24 years, I wanted to express a concern that I have for all expectant mothers.

I consider 3 months to be a potential difficult time for baby. Most children don't hit separation anxiety hard until 5 months. But some hit it early. When a mom takes off 8 weeks and then goes back, the baby learns how to love the daycare provider and does very well right from the very start. By the time a baby is 3 months old they are fairly entrenched in the way the mom does things, the smell of their mom, the feel of the house, the feel of their bed, the sights and sounds the baby is used to and many of them have a HARD time getting used to daycare.

By all means if you plan on sending the child to daycare or anyone other than yourself, make sure you bottle feed with formula from day one. Most moms breastfeeding when they return to work become so stressed they can't pump enough and baby can't suddenly learn to drink from a bottle. I did both breast and bottle from day one and never had an issue with any of the babies eating for someone other than me.

If you really want 3 months time with baby, you might consider a part-time schedule in the 3rd month so that the provider and baby can begin to bond.

The 6-8 weeks has to do with the standard disability/healing time after a pregnancy. Typically 6 weeks are recommended for a vaginal delivery and 8 weeks for a c-section, so that's where the 6-8 weeks come from.

And the others are correct. You have to have worked a certain amount of time in order to legally use FMLA time. Perhaps you could look into using your sick time if they do not grant you FMLA (which, legally, they do not have to do).

Sorry, I missed the part of you being new at your job. The other posters are correct, you will not be eligible for FMLA because you will not have met the service requirement. Can you negotiate with your new employer and ask them to put in your offer letter that you will be eligible to recieve (unpaid) leave?

Best to talk to your hr department. Where I work you can take up to 26 weeks. The first 6-8 weeks are fmla and the remaining is short term disability. Most people where I work take at least 12 weeks. Depending on how long you've been with the company determined how much time you got paid 100% before dropping down to 66%. with my last child I took 17 weeks off. 12 weeks full pay. This was after 6 years of service.

in CT we are allowed 6-8 for a V and 12 for a csection...that is the law. you might be able to get an extra few weeks if you save sick days/vacation days or just take them unpaid? ask your personal dept. they should help you out

No, but if you have disability insurance at your work that will be paying part of your salary while you are on leave, they will only pay for the amount of time your dr signs off on. Usually 6 weeks for vaginal birth, 8 for C section. Just be careful if this is the case not to go in for your doctor check up under that time limit or the disability will stop paying you or ask for payment back for whatever the time difference is between when you had your check up and when the 6-8 weeks is up.

And wow...some people have very nice employers. I was required to use up sick time first, then I got disability up to that 6 week mark, which I think ended up being like 2 weeks or so at 50 % pay) then for the next 6 weeks I got nothing. Gotta love the value our country puts on families and childbearing.

And yes, most employers will not allow you leave at all if you have not worked there for at least a year.

It shouldn't. If your work pays you for you recovery time, they will only pay you for 6 or 8 weeks that the doctor has stated you need to recover. After that you may take the additional 4 or 6 weeks, but your employer is not obligated to pay you. In reference to some earlier posts, it is up to your employer if they will grant you FMLA. Make sure you speak with them as soon as possible.

Did you ask your OB why this term and why only 6-8 weeks?

Are you talking about FMLA or disability leave?

I never needed to provide any type of paperwork to either of my employers to take advantage of the FMLA for the birth of my children.

Unless your employer is willing to make an exception, you do not qualify for FMLA. The following was taken from the DOL website.
"In order to be eligible to take leave under the FMLA, an employee must (1) work for a covered employer, (2) work 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of leave, (3) work at a location where 50 or more employees work at that location or within 75 miles of it, and (4) have worked for the employer for 12 months."

As for disability, the rule is 6 weeks for vaginal delivery or 8 weeks for c-section. Additional time can be added if there are complications. Disability requires paperwork from your doctor.

You should check with your employer as to their rules for maternity leave.