For working moms...

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They mad her take the month off before her due date paid and then she got 6 months leave... all paid. I should check this out, I'll ask her!!

While nice--that is illegal. An employee cannot be "made" to take off (paid or otherwise) if her doctor okays her to work.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Oh, I forgot this wonderful gem from my employers (large school district in GA). If your husband works for your county as well, he can't take any paid leave (which comes out of sick days) because it counts away from his wife's leave. A few years ago I worked with a man who's wife had a preemie. He couldn't take any paternity leave that didn't count against her maternity leave. He just had to lie and call in sick a few days to spend time with them. WTH? Our country needs to step it up when it comes to maternity/paternity leave.

I found this quote from NBC (it aired on the Today Show):

"The U.S. and Australia are the only industrialized countries that don't provide paid leave for mothers nationally but even Australian moms have a year of job protection."
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Columbia University: "We are a disaster. We are about 162nd out of 168 countries in terms of the kind of leave that we offer to parents who have newborns."

Yep--that is how FMLA is written. At the time my hubby and I worked for the same company. Together we couldn't take more than 12 weeks (if he opted to use the FMLA option). Again--same bit would happen if you each had to care for a family member or something.

 

[Ava83]

I keep forgetting things we also can take unpaid leave, keep our insurance (I think you have to pay) at management discretion.

I know two women in the office that are taking leave indefinitely

 

[Bob Slydell]

DW's firm, IIRC, give 6 weeks paid -- 2 weeks at full pay and the other 4 as STD (80% pay). Plus, DW was able to use her vacation time after STD ran out to extend her leave, which she did, using 6 more weeks of accumulated vacation in order to extend her leave through the summer (DS2 was born in May).

Her firm even instituted a paternity leave a couple years ago for new Dads -- 2 weeks paid leave.

 

[diskids2]

Ok I could be wrong, but I believe it is the LAW to give you 12 weeks of unpaid leave - end of story.

 

[MamaLema]

How is your maternity leave? I work for a big company and mine sucks! I mean I guess it is "standard" but I talked to HR today and was so upset.

We get 6 weeks unpaid FMLA and that's IT. If we have any vacation/sick time we have to use it as part of FMLA. I asked if I can just take my 6 weeks of maternity and then use my vacation and sick time on top of it and they said no.

Is there anyway I can get more than 6 weeks? Are there loopholes?

What was your maternity leave?

That does suck. In Canada maternity leave is 1 year. I hope you can get more somehow

 

[MELISAZACK]

Wow how strange for GIECO...I work for State. Farm if you are here at least a year you get 6 wks paid for natural and 8 wks paid for c-section then you have the option to at depeding on the type of birth 14 wks or 12 wks of fmla not paid.....but you are able to take them - They will go as far as lett ing you take the FMLA as 1/2 work days or weeks until it adds up too.

 

[budbeerlady]

That seems incorrect for FMLA. I got 12 weeks and a small disability check payment. I had to fill out the paperwork for it and obviously it was a disability form and they wanted to know how the injury was recieved? We still laugh about that form everytime someone needs it. Good luck and enjoy being mommy.

 

[LisaNJ25]

For all 4 of my kids I went though the State temporary disability. I am not sure if everyone is NJ is like this. I got 4 weeks before and 8 weeks after paid (6 weeks if ******l delivery)

 

[cats7494]

I work for a smaller company - less than 50 employees... so I 8 weeks unpaid - but can apply vacation or sick time to that.
I am due at the end of next month and am taking 7 weeks upaid and 1 week of paid (using vacation time) maternity leave.

At dh's work - he can have up to 12 weeks of leave unpaid but he is only going to take off one week. (He will use only one week of vacation)
One of us needs a paycheck during that time!

 

[Jennifer S]

When I worked I got to use my sick days first. I had accumulated 100 over the years I worked. So I got paid for the two weeks before the baby was born and 6 weeks after. Then I quit- too far of a commute. It's a shame because I still had a ton of days left over.