Maternity Leave & Short Term Disability

[HM]

It's looking like she'll have to go back after three weeks. DH will have to take three weeks off after, to get them to the six week daycare start date if there are no retired grandparents to come in and cover some time.

I'm sorry she's not getting the type of home time with the baby she desires. Sometimes things just don't go as planned.

 

[kamik86]

I believe her daycare won't even take the baby until he or she is 6 weeks old. So at a minimum, she'd require an additional 3 weeks beyond what she has left before she could come back to work. But, being a new mom, I'm sure she really wants to be home as long as possible. It's a big adjustment. I feel for her knowing that if she hadn't gotten sick early on, she'd have a full 12 weeks home with her new baby, with no questions asked.

Well this would be a case where you would see if the husband could take some time off. If he could get three weeks off that would solve the problem of daycare.

 

[DopeyDame]

It's looking like she'll have to go back after three weeks. DH will have to take three weeks off after, to get them to the six week daycare start date if there are no retired grandparents to come in and cover some time.

I'm sorry she's not getting the type of home time with the baby she desires. Sometimes things just don't go as planned.

This is actually a great point about DH. Assuming they don't work for the same company, DH is also entitled to 12 weeks of FMLA per year for the birth of a child. Obviously it may be unpaid time off, depending on his company's paternity policies, but her 3 weeks plus his 12 weeks can get them to 4 months off for the baby.

 

[ilovefh]

I'm really appalled that things like this happen. The baby can't even go to daycare at 3 weeks old. When did we stop being human and helping each other out? Maybe the law doesn't say you have to hold someone's job but human decency should.

When I had my son neither my husband nor I qualified for FMLA because we had been employed for less than a year at our respective jobs. My school held my job even though they didn't "have to." My husband's manager at Disney just didn't schedule him for two weeks so he could be home with us.

 

[undertheradar]

I believe her daycare won't even take the baby until he or she is 6 weeks old. So at a minimum, she'd require an additional 3 weeks beyond what she has left before she could come back to work. But, being a new mom, I'm sure she really wants to be home as long as possible. It's a big adjustment. I feel for her knowing that if she hadn't gotten sick early on, she'd have a full 12 weeks home with her new baby, with no questions asked.

Are there family members near or friends who could care for the baby until daycare takes over? Not ideal solutions , but provide relief so that she could return to work as requested by the company.

To those suggesting that the company make an exception, this opens the door for more exception requests. Not wise for a company to stray from written company policy.

 

[undertheradar]

I'm really appalled that things like this happen. The baby can't even go to daycare at 3 weeks old. When did we stop being human and helping each other out? Maybe the law doesn't say you have to hold someone's job but human decency should.

When I had my son neither my husband nor I qualified for FMLA because we had been employed for less than a year at our respective jobs. My school held my job even though they didn't "have to." My husband's manager at Disney just didn't schedule him for two weeks so he could be home with us.

Most employers stopped allowing exceptions when employees started abusing the privileges provided. There have been a lot of women who went out on maternity leave, were paid by the employer, then decided to remain home instead of returning to work. All the while, the employer held the position for the employee to return.

 

[shoney]

She should speak to her doctor. Some won't clear the mom at 3 weeks especially after a c-section.

 

[mom2rtk]

Maybe it's time for the OPs co-worker to look for a new job. I know she has a lot on her plate. But it might be the time to consider if this is the company she wants to be at as she moves forward with balancing work and family. If it isn't, then maybe consider taking her chances applying for her old job again.. And if that doesn't work out, take some time home with the baby while also looking for a new job.

There is no job I would have been willing to return to at 3 weeks. The rest would just have to work out.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

And to think, we claim to be pro-family

A society can be pro-family, without subsiding that family. They aren't inclusive, or mutually exclusive.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Most employers stopped allowing exceptions when employees started abusing the privileges provided. There have been a lot of women who went out on maternity leave, were paid by the employer, then decided to remain home instead of returning to work. All the while, the employer held the position for the employee to return.

At the large company I work for a large percentage of women who give birth resign after their short-term disability is up. It is so bad that no one believed me when I said I was coming back, even HR.

I agree that making one exception opens the floodgates for others to demand an exception.

This situation is a good example of why the maternity leave policy in this country needs to be looked at. There needs to be a happy medium between giving benefits to mothers while not putting undo hardship on the employer. And yes, it does negatively impact the employer who has to hold a job for someone not working by either expecting others to pick up the slack or using a temp replacement.

 

[kamik86]

I'm really appalled that things like this happen. The baby can't even go to daycare at 3 weeks old. When did we stop being human and helping each other out? Maybe the law doesn't say you have to hold someone's job but human decency should.

When I had my son neither my husband nor I qualified for FMLA because we had been employed for less than a year at our respective jobs. My school held my job even though they didn't "have to." My husband's manager at Disney just didn't schedule him for two weeks so he could be home with us.

Most employers I think would hold the job for a good employee unless they have been seeing a lot of abuse where they felt people were abusing the companies generosity (then upper management might make a blanket policy).

I know my job would allow people to be out longer. Especially with an issue like this, but that is because the cost of finding a new employee and retraining them is not worth the small amount of hassle required to juggle people and cover those extra three weeks. Unless of course the person wasn't a good employee and they wanted an excuse to let someone go.

 

[HM]

OP-
Can people in your company offer sick time/vacation for other employees to use. We've done that here when someone is diagnosed with cancer or has to have surgery that takes them out longer than the leave time they have accumulated. She needs 15 days to get to the six week mark, right? 15 people give one day each?

 

[Waddler]

OP, I found myself in a similar situation when I was pregnant with my first. I was by far the highest-ranking female engineer ever to start a family in the company's 70-year history. My employer was in uncharted territory. I loved my job and was told that I was an excellent employee, but my career did require 50-70+ hours a week with extensive travel.

I developed complications in my 3rd trimester and my doctor strongly advised that I take the rest of the pregnancy off. This would leave me with roughly 3-7 weeks of FMLA to spend with my new baby, depending on when I delivered. I knew that I would want more time to bond and adjust to parenthood. Fortunately, paid leave and benefit continuation weren't deciding factors for us.

After some discussion, the decision-makers in the company chose to hold firm to their written policies and were unwilling to make any exceptions for me to extend my unpaid leave, return part-time, or work from home after giving birth. There were several young women coming up through the ranks (not to mention others who would've preferred to work part-time), so I understood why they didn't want to open the floodgates for negotiation.

Fair or not, I also felt a lot of social pressure to keep pace with my male coworkers, despite pregnancy complications, birth, and recovery. Some expressed jealousy (thinly veiled in humor) that I was entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for a decision that I had made. I was encouraged to "stay in touch" (i.e., work casually) while on leave, and return just a few weeks after giving birth. The president of the company even suggested that I would be going stir crazy after 4 weeks with a newborn. (In a way, I was... but I was NOT ready to return to work full time at that point. I wasn't even medically cleared to drive then!) I'd bet that my experience is fairly typical for women in fast-paced fields. I don't think it would've been entirely acceptable for me to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave.

I had the choice of adhering to their policies, or resigning with the option of reapplying at a later time. In the end, we amicably parted ways and I found a much more flexible part-time job that was a better fit for my family. I have nothing but admiration for mothers that stick it out, but "Jan" may want to seriously consider if this company's corporate culture is compatible with the life she wants to live.

 

[nkereina]

Some great discussion here, I appreciate all the replies.

My friend Jan's DH started with a new employer in September. I'm not certain of his circumstances, but I believe his vacation time is limited to 10 days until his one year anniversary mark, and he just used 3 of those 10 days after his father passed away unexpectedly. I do believe he plans to save the remainder for when the baby is born, so hopefully they can coordinate something there. Jan's parents aren't local, and I think they were going to see if her DH's parents could watch the baby for some of the time but with his father's passing, personally I think it would be a lot to impose. I'm the same age as Jan and I can't imagine my mother trying to take on a newborn 40 hours a week. She'd be lost! LOL.

I'm familiar with the concept of "donating" PTO time to your co-worker - I've heard of that in other companies. I'm not sure if they permit that where we work, I'm not sure if it's ever come up. Definitely something worth looking into!

Right now I think Jan is leaning towards resigning and taking her chances. I'm not sure if I agree with her approach, I think I'd be a nervous wreck knowing I may not have a job. But many of you are right in that our company doesn't fully value the work life balance like many others do, and perhaps a more flexible or even part time position would better suit her. Guess we'll see what happens!

 

[mom2rtk]

Some great discussion here, I appreciate all the replies.

My friend Jan's DH started with a new employer in September. I'm not certain of his circumstances, but I believe his vacation time is limited to 10 days until his one year anniversary mark, and he just used 3 of those 10 days after his father passed away unexpectedly. I do believe he plans to save the remainder for when the baby is born, so hopefully they can coordinate something there. Jan's parents aren't local, and I think they were going to see if her DH's parents could watch the baby for some of the time but with his father's passing, personally I think it would be a lot to impose. I'm the same age as Jan and I can't imagine my mother trying to take on a newborn 40 hours a week. She'd be lost! LOL.

I'm familiar with the concept of "donating" PTO time to your co-worker - I've heard of that in other companies. I'm not sure if they permit that where we work, I'm not sure if it's ever come up. Definitely something worth looking into!

Right now I think Jan is leaning towards resigning and taking her chances. I'm not sure if I agree with her approach, I think I'd be a nervous wreck knowing I may not have a job. But many of you are right in that our company doesn't fully value the work life balance like many others do, and perhaps a more flexible or even part time position would better suit her. Guess we'll see what happens!

Jobs can be replaced.

Time with your newborn cannot.

 

[aaarcher86]

She should speak to her doctor. Some won't clear the mom at 3 weeks especially after a c-section.

Very true. I can't even drive for the first 2 weeks!

 

[AlohaNow]

I actually cringe when I hear the term ‘maternity leave’ used. Very, very few American employers have a separate category for maternity (or paternity) leave. Women cobble together time to take off when having a baby through vacation, short-term disability, and FMLA. And some do not have access to any or all of these due to time in service, their employer not having a short-term disability insurance policy, etc.

Your friend Jan must realize that she is being forced out already.

It will be an amazing day when American employers wake up and realize that women having babies is the only possible way to further the human race.

 

[ilovefh]

Most employers stopped allowing exceptions when employees started abusing the privileges provided. There have been a lot of women who went out on maternity leave, were paid by the employer, then decided to remain home instead of returning to work. All the while, the employer held the position for the employee to return.

I'm very interested to see what happens with Vodaphone. They recently announced they would give 16 weeks of fully paid maternity leave and then allow employees to work reduced hours for the first 6 months while being paid in full. Apparently they have found that they have better retention rates of employees in countries with more liberal leave policies. They say this could save them $19 billion dollars. I'm curious to see how it works for them with their US employees. I wonder how many women would choose to return if they had this type of support? I know I wasn't ready when my son was 6 weeks. I was still up all hours of the night and we were still figuring feeding out. I lucked out because I had DS 6 weeks before the end of school so when my leave was up, so was the school year and I had the summer with him.

 

[Happy Snowman]

Most employers stopped allowing exceptions when employees started abusing the privileges provided. There have been a lot of women who went out on maternity leave, were paid by the employer, then decided to remain home instead of returning to work. All the while, the employer held the position for the employee to return.

If the employer offers short-term disability, the insurance company paid the maternity leave pay, not the employer. That is not abusing the system.

 

[BOST99]

She should speak to her doctor. Some won't clear the mom at 3 weeks especially after a c-section.

Agreed. I would also be surprised if a doctor released her back to work at 3 weeks. Short Term disability is income protection when you are physically unable to work due to injury or illness. Standard STD for pregnancy is 6 weeks -8 weeks (c-section) in which your doctor writes you are physically unable to work.

What others have said about FMLA is correct in that it is only an unpaid job protection leave and can be administered on a rolling calendar. When you are approved for FMLA, the company is responsible for telling you the method that they use for the period (rolling vs. calendar). She should double check her previous paperwork.

If she hasn't already, she may also want to write HR a formal letter requesting that they review her situation and ask for the exception. They likely not accept it and terminate her for not returning from leave but it may help when filing for Unemployment. She can show that she took every step to keep her employment but that her company chose (which is their right) not to make an exception to their FMLA policy, which at least shows that she tried to keep her employment but lost it due to medical issues.

Best of luck!