Ineligible for FMLA? Options?

Hi M.,

Congratulations!! You should be able to find this information in the university's faculty/staff handbook. These are typically published online, so you should be able to find out without talking to anyone about it.

Take care,

G.

The FMLA mandates what employers MUST offer but obviously, employers CAN offer much more. Some offer short-term disability, for example, that can be used for maternity leave. At the very least, I am assuming you get paid sick leave and/or annual vacation leave? I would save that up, for sure, since it sounds like you have several months yet to let it accrue. I am not an expert on what you are legally entitled to but I don't think you are likely entitled to much. But given your history at the university, it seems like your employer should be willing to work something out with you.

Legally you have no rights if you are not covered by FMLA. However you need to look at your companies employee handbook and procedures to see if you company has a medical leave. I had a baby and was employed with my company for less than a year so i was not covered by FMLA. My compnay had a medical leave so i was still able to take of 12 weeks to spend with my baby.

First, I would apply for FMLA no matter what. It is up to them to approve it or not, and they may. ALso, it is for the 12 months following a birth I believe, os if you need the time beyond the birth of the child it would afford you soem protection.

Second, the time you get off should be related to their medical disability and leave policies, So the first 6-8 weeks should be based on that. After that, you need ot see wha the leave policies are. You should be able ot take time off without pay - people take leave for many reasons - but your job may not be protected.

I hope your emplyer is accomodating. You should start by talking to HR, even in the hypothetical. Your manager will likely not know the rules and policies and may misinfomr you. Good luck.

When my husband and I worked for the State, faculty positions at AACC and U of Md, we had fabulous benefits, and I believe they gave them up front.

Call HR right away and see if they can help.

C.

Check in on your Short term disability benefit and what it covers. I personally did not use FMLA until after my 8 weeks (c-section) recovery on Short Term disability. Also check to see what benefits the university offers for pregnancy, some companies offer paid pregnancy leave which is outside of FMLA. You stated you didn't want to go public but you may want to have a talk with your HR representative. Also, you were employed with the university for 5 years PT that may entitle you to hit FMLA but your HR representative should be able to inform you the best. Hopes this helps.

I would call the HR department. All companies are different

i worked for a university for 11 months full time before giving birth and did not get FMLA. go talk to HR, they should respect your privacy. for me it was up to my boss to hold my job and he did even when i worked part time for a while after coming back. another thing to investigate is if your medical insurance comes from the university you may have to pay the full premium while on LWOP and for me that exceeded the cost of my rent. it was tough financially. congrats!

I'm an HR Director and the answer is, it depends. They're not required to give you that time. Most employers would because it's a good business decision to do so. You can be eligible for FMLA if you worked enough hours part time. You should discuss it with your HR rep. If you ask him/her not to discuss it with anyone he/she is required to keep quiet until you are ready to announce that you're pregnant. As for the person who posted that she took her FMLA after she was already out 8 weeks, most companies will not allow you to do that and will require you to take your FMLA in conjunction with any time off you have acquired. My recommendation to you is that when you talk to HR, if FMLA is not an option for you, make sure they intend to bring you back into your new position once you return from maternity. Most reasonable employers who value you as an employee will be accommodating with your pregnancy but you always want to be sure to protect yourself. Good luck!

I am in a similar situation - things are in the process of moving me from a contract to part-time status with benefits at a site I have been working for over the past year. I will not meet the requirements of unpaid maternity leave but they are well aware that I am pregnant and due in June. I did not even ask whether or not I could have the leave - I just assumed I would get it and basically said that I would be gone for the allotted six weeks in June / July. No one had a problem with that. It is virtually impossible for you to work right after you have a baby (if you are anything like me it was almost impossible to do anything besides care for the baby!) and I think any employer would rather have you take the time you need to recover than to demand you are back at work too soon. Wait until you reach a point in your pregnancy that you are comfortable in letting the employer know and then approach it with the understanding that you need that time off. Chances are you will work 12 months after your leave without having another baby so I think they will fully understand. Especially since it is an unpaid leave. Good luck and congratulations on your pregnancy!

M. - it depends on the employers employee handbook. Take a look in there and see what it says about extended illnesses/vacation within the first 12 months of employment. If it says no leave, you are going to have to speak with your employer sooner rather than later.

There are no laws within the US, other than FMLA, covering maternity leave.

Good luck!

Congrats on your pregnancy. I hope you have talked to Human Resources by now to get some answers. Two things off the top of my head- If I recall, FMLA still applies within 1 year of the birth so I wonder if maybe when you finally have passed the 12 month mark of full-time employment at the University, you could then take up to 12 weeks off? In addition to your being off following the birth of your baby, no sane person expects you to go "Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho Off to Work I Go!" after your baby is here. The 2nd thing is- when you're ready to, discreetly confide in and inquire a mommmy-employee on her experience with FMLA and informing her supervisor of the pregnancy- you might get great advice that way.

M.-

You may not qualify for paid SHORT TERM DISABILITY leave, but you definitely will qualify for unpaid FMLA leave. FMLA is the Family Medical Leave Act and it qualifies any paid employee the benefit of taking time off to care for themselves or a direct family member in the event of an illness (or in this case, to recover from childbirth) without the fear of losing his or her job. Most employers will allow 6 weeks of unpaid leave for a vaginal birth, and 8 weeks of unpaid leave to recover from a C-section. After that, according to the FMLA, you can elect to take an additional 4-6 weeks of leave (total FMLA allowance is 12 weeks, and most employers count the 6-8 weeks they already "gave" you as part of the total calculation).

So the choice is really yours... you can go back to work in as little as a few days or as many as 12 weeks. Either way, your job is protected during that period. What happens after you return to work is another story...

Best wishes to you for a safe and healthy pregnancy and congrats on your new little one to come!

M.

Since you are still with the same employer I would think that you would still be eligible. The guidelines read this:

Am I eligible?
All employees must have worked for the employer for a total of 12 months; - you've been there 5 years.

have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months; and
work at a location in the United States or in any territory or possession of the United States where the employer within 75 miles employs at least 50 employees.

- that means that you've worked at least 25 hours a week for the last year.

I think you would be eliglible to use the FMLA. Whether or not that time would be paid or unpaid is a different story, and would depend on how much vacation pay you've earned by August.

M.