Maternity Leave

[i like stitch]

At the time of my maternity leave, I worked for a national corporation. Under the FMLA, I could take 12 weeks off and if I wanted to be paid, I had to use accrued vacation and sick leave.

I had all but 2 weeks of paid leave but the best part was that I had terrific health insurance & my entire medical bill was just $10!

 

[Kimkimba]

All right, I am usually not the person who says this, but.....if you are talking your husband into getting pregnant (not usually the best situation), then shouldn't you already have a small nest egg in place.

If you are relying on the few weeks of pay you'll get from a job, and having to talk to your husband into getting pregant, I'm not sure this is the right time.

Maybe save for a year?

 

[jessica52877]

My husband works for walmart, when our son was born he was allowed 2 weeks off paid time. He is a salaried manager. That is all he could have and they would not allow him any vacation time. They balked at the thought that he wanted to take that time off!

 

[Gillian]

DH's company gives 2 weeks paid (10 days, I suppose) I think for anyone who has or adopts a baby, mom or dad. You are allowed to take it over time, maybe 3 months?

My company had no paid maternity leave. I got all of my disability at full pay. The amount % of pay from that company depended on length of service. I had been there long enough to get full pay for the entire time that my Dr said I needed to be out. Disability, as stated, is because the mom is not able to work.

Disability pay is taxed by the feds/irs, but it is not taxable in my state, NJ.

I was also eligible for FMLA time off at no pay but I was able to continue my health insurance (and the payments). You can also spread out your flma time off, so that you have a part time schedule, if your company allows it.

 

[maxie]

I don't know how you Americans do it! Six weeks of mat leave. In Canada we get a year. Fifty of those weeks are paid Employment Insurance for 55% of your salary (to a maximum) by the federal government.

How do you leave a 6 week old?

I'm currently on mat leave until September 24th. My son will be just over 11 months when my time is up.

 

[summerrluvv]

My husband works for walmart, when our son was born he was allowed 2 weeks off paid time. He is a salaried manager. That is all he could have and they would not allow him any vacation time. They balked at the thought that he wanted to take that time off!

If your husband worked there for a year, he could have taken 12 weeks off without pay under FMLA. If they denied him that, I smell a lawsuit.

 

[klineyqueen]

I am a teacher and we get 0 paid maternity leave. But they will keep your position for a year. They also pay your insurance for the entire leave! So I felt like I was getting a deal. Most girls only took 8-12 weeks. I took the entire year. It was tough not getting my salary but getting the insurance was worth it! We just lived on my DH's pay. Take as much time as you are able. It is so worth being with your kids!

 

[LilGMom]

Just a quick question... What does your job offer for Maternity Leave? Do they pay you full or part of your pay? Do you get paid disability?

Also if a job offers nothing, is that reason enough to look for another job?

Thanks!

I worked for a very small engineering firm (14 employees) and their 'standard' maternity leave was six weeks off without pay and FMLA didn't apply to my company because of the small size. If you wanted to get paid you had better have sick and vacation hours saved up. After six weeks you were expected to return to work full time. I took the job knowing that but when I took the job dh & I weren't yet married and kids weren't even considered. What I worked out with my company (after being there for about five years) was six weeks unpaid time off but I would work remotely from my house as much as possible. After the six weeks I would physically go into the office one day a week and work from home the rest of the week until my ds was seven months old. I ended up working from home until he was almost nine months old because his start date at the daycare kept getting pushed back by the daycare. Luckily my employer was great about it and it worked for us. If I hadn't had the job I might have looked at companies that offered better maternity leave options from the beginning but I think that if you are a valued enough employee and they can't afford to lose you (such is the case with smaller companies where your skill is specialized) they will be more willing to work out something that everyone can live with.

 

[ah1126]

Well I found out that my company dosn't offer any paid time. I can save my vacation, personal and sick time to use. I guess I will have to come up with some ways to save some money! Thanks again to everyone for your input!

 

[LisaNJ25]

Well I found out that my company dosn't offer any paid time. I can save my vacation, personal and sick time to use. I guess I will have to come up with some ways to save some money! Thanks again to everyone for your input!

Can you go though state disability?

 

[ah1126]

I am pretty sure that they don't offer the disability either.

 

[neatokimmo]

I work for a huge company. Maternity Leave is 13 weeks paid 100% and you can add all your vacation time to it. So if you planned it right, you could take a total of 20 weeks off paid if you are salaried.

They give 8 weeks at 100% for adoption too