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II. Family Leave vs. Pregnancy Leave
Before you start looking further into the leave available to you, you’ll need to understand a few basics. One of the first things to realize is that there is actually a difference between pregnancy leave and maternity or family leave.
Pregnancy leave is considered medical leave, provided due to a pregnancy-related disability. This can occur either before or after the birth of a baby. If your doctor orders to you to bed rest or places some other physical limitation which precludes you from doing your job while pregnant, you will need to take pregnancy leave.
If you have a caesarean section and are restricted from working for several weeks post-op, those weeks are considered “medical” and the leave associated with the doctor’s restrictions is pregnancy or medical leave.
It is very likely that your condition will qualify for short term disability if you are on pregnancy/medical leave – so it is possible that you may have some income during this type of leave even if your company generally grants only unpaid maternity leave.
You may also be able to use your accrued sick time or paid time off. This will be discussed in further detail later in this text.
Maternity or family leave is leave given to allow you to care for your child. This is what most people think of when first considering the availability of pregnancy- and baby-related leave. Maternity leave used to be offered only to women. In order to comply with discrimination laws, most family leave policies now apply to both parents.
Pregnancy leave is considered medical leave, provided due to a pregnancy-related disability. This can occur either before or after the birth of a baby. If your doctor orders to you to bed rest or places some other physical limitation which precludes you from doing your job while pregnant, you will need to take pregnancy leave.
If you have a caesarean section and are restricted from working for several weeks post-op, those weeks are considered “medical” and the leave associated with the doctor’s restrictions is pregnancy or medical leave.
It is very likely that your condition will qualify for short term disability if you are on pregnancy/medical leave – so it is possible that you may have some income during this type of leave even if your company generally grants only unpaid maternity leave.
You may also be able to use your accrued sick time or paid time off. This will be discussed in further detail later in this text.
Maternity or family leave is leave given to allow you to care for your child. This is what most people think of when first considering the availability of pregnancy- and baby-related leave. Maternity leave used to be offered only to women. In order to comply with discrimination laws, most family leave policies now apply to both parents.
Paid family leave is fairly unusual in the United States. Some companies, generally larger corporations, do offer paid time off, often six weeks and sometimes more.
Most working parents will cobble together some combination of state-provided or private short-term disability, sick leave, vacation, personal days, and unpaid family leave to achieve the time off work they feel is necessary for their family.
Employers are allowed to require a certain order in which you take various types of leave. It will be very important to begin looking at your options under the law and company policy as early as possible.
If you end up being put on bed rest or end up in delivery prematurely, you’ll be glad that sorted through all of the leave information early. Even if you deliver on time, figuring all of this out early on will alleviate unnecessary stress late in your pregnancy.
Proceed to - Federal Law
Most working parents will cobble together some combination of state-provided or private short-term disability, sick leave, vacation, personal days, and unpaid family leave to achieve the time off work they feel is necessary for their family.
Employers are allowed to require a certain order in which you take various types of leave. It will be very important to begin looking at your options under the law and company policy as early as possible.
If you end up being put on bed rest or end up in delivery prematurely, you’ll be glad that sorted through all of the leave information early. Even if you deliver on time, figuring all of this out early on will alleviate unnecessary stress late in your pregnancy.
Proceed to - Federal Law
