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VI. How to Arrange and Negotiate Maternity Leave
Depending on where you work, maternity leave can be a very fluid concept. Some employers have strict, established procedures for handling maternity leave. Others (often smaller companies) don’t deal with maternity leave very often or are capable of customizing leave options for employees in order to keep good, long-term employees or to get work done with flexibility. So, you need to try to work it!
Determining What You Need and What You are Entitled To
What you want and what you can have are often two very, very different things. You may want to take a year off of work after your child is born. But – you may have to settle for 12 weeks or even less. First, you’ll need to figure out exactly what it is that you are entitled to, if anything, in the way of maternity leave.
Do some research – check out the internet and your employee policies and procedures manual, then talk to your HR person at work. Find out which state and federal regulations apply to you and your employer. If you work full-time for an employer with more than 50 employees, you are likely eligible for benefits under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA gives you 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to recover from childbirth and care for your newborn (or newly adopted) baby.
If you’re not eligible under the FMLA, you may still be eligible for leave under your state’s family and/or medical leave laws or under your company’s family leave policy. Check the Appendix to this text for information regarding state leave laws.
Check to see if your state-provided or employer-provided short-term disability applies to your recovery from childbirth – this would not grant you extra leave, but it would provide some payment for your leave.
Some Ways to Get a Little Creative
Your employer may require that all the paid leave you take (short-term disability, vacation and sick leave) be applied to the 12 weeks of FMLA leave. But some states allow you to take the full 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave PLUS whatever paid leave you choose to take. Individual employers’ leave policies may also allow this.
Don’t forget that you can take your 12 FMLA weeks intermittently. For example, if you want to take two weeks off, then have your husband stay home for two weeks, and back and forth for six months, you can do so with your employer’s approval.
If you want to take Fridays off for the rest of the year, that’s 52 Fridays out of 60 allowable FMLA leave days. You can do that too, if your employer okays it. Take a look back at the chapter on FMLA for more details.
If your employer is small, isn’t covered by FMLA or any state equivalent and has financial limitations which would restrict its ability to grant you a really good maternity leave, you may want to negotiate a period of leave (paid or unpaid depending on the situation) plus a flexible return schedule.
If your employer offers you six weeks and you were hoping for eight or ten, suggest a part-time return for a few weeks following your six week leave. Or suggest a work-from-home/telecommute option for a few weeks – they get their worker back and you stay at home with your baby for a little bit longer.
Determining What You Need and What You are Entitled To
What you want and what you can have are often two very, very different things. You may want to take a year off of work after your child is born. But – you may have to settle for 12 weeks or even less. First, you’ll need to figure out exactly what it is that you are entitled to, if anything, in the way of maternity leave.
Do some research – check out the internet and your employee policies and procedures manual, then talk to your HR person at work. Find out which state and federal regulations apply to you and your employer. If you work full-time for an employer with more than 50 employees, you are likely eligible for benefits under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA gives you 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to recover from childbirth and care for your newborn (or newly adopted) baby.
If you’re not eligible under the FMLA, you may still be eligible for leave under your state’s family and/or medical leave laws or under your company’s family leave policy. Check the Appendix to this text for information regarding state leave laws.
Check to see if your state-provided or employer-provided short-term disability applies to your recovery from childbirth – this would not grant you extra leave, but it would provide some payment for your leave.
Some Ways to Get a Little Creative
Your employer may require that all the paid leave you take (short-term disability, vacation and sick leave) be applied to the 12 weeks of FMLA leave. But some states allow you to take the full 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave PLUS whatever paid leave you choose to take. Individual employers’ leave policies may also allow this.
Don’t forget that you can take your 12 FMLA weeks intermittently. For example, if you want to take two weeks off, then have your husband stay home for two weeks, and back and forth for six months, you can do so with your employer’s approval.
If you want to take Fridays off for the rest of the year, that’s 52 Fridays out of 60 allowable FMLA leave days. You can do that too, if your employer okays it. Take a look back at the chapter on FMLA for more details.
If your employer is small, isn’t covered by FMLA or any state equivalent and has financial limitations which would restrict its ability to grant you a really good maternity leave, you may want to negotiate a period of leave (paid or unpaid depending on the situation) plus a flexible return schedule.
If your employer offers you six weeks and you were hoping for eight or ten, suggest a part-time return for a few weeks following your six week leave. Or suggest a work-from-home/telecommute option for a few weeks – they get their worker back and you stay at home with your baby for a little bit longer.
Things to Consider
If it looks like you’re going to have to take unpaid leave, decide how much time you can reasonably afford to take. Also look at your partner’s available parental leave – how long is it? Is it paid or unpaid? – and decide whether your partner can take any time off and when it would be best.
You and your partner may decide to take leave at the same time, but if you want to stretch out the time that at least one of you is home with the baby, consider overlapping your leaves, taking them consecutively, or spreading your time off over the year.
Dealing with the HR Department
Human resources, being human resources, is going to have a lot of forms for you to fill out. Go ahead and put together a folder so that you can keep all of these documents together. Take good notes and keep copies of everything.
These documents will probably include:
• Leave applications
• Vacation time request
• Doctors’ verification forms
• A copy of your employer’s family leave policy
• All correspondence between you and your company including HR and your supervisor regarding paternity leave
Questions You’ll Want to Ask HR
• May I have a copy of the company’s family and medical leave policy?
• Am I eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid family leave under the FMLA?
• Am I eligible for paid or unpaid family leave under state law? How much and when can I take it?
• Does the company offer maternity leave? And if so, how many days?
• Is it paid or unpaid leave?
• If it is paid, but not at my full rate, how many weeks are covered and at what percentage?
• Can I take additional time if I have complications? Will I need a doctor’s certification? Will that be counted as FMLA leave? Can I use my sick leave?
• How many vacation, personal, or sick days have I accrued?
• Can I use those days however I want to?
• Am I required to use accrued vacation, personal, or sick days before any other kind of leave?
• Can I take vacation days that I haven’t accrued yet – i.e. days that I will be eligible for by the end of the year?
• Will I have to wait longer to be eligible for a raise if I take unpaid leave?
• Will I have to wait longer to be eligible for more annual vacation time if I take unpaid leave?
• How will I pay my health insurance premiums while I’m on leave? Will the employer pay and then seek reimbursement or should I send a check directly to the insurer?
• Will I still be covered by my group life insurance while on leave, and (if you pay a premium for extra coverage) how do I pay those premiums?
• Are any other benefits affected by my maternity leave?
• Does the company or the state offer short-term disability benefits (Short-Term Disability)? Can I take Short-Term Disability before and/or after the birth of my baby?
• How many weeks are covered by Short-Term Disability and at what percentage of my pay?
• Can I buy additional Short-Term Disability coverage through the company’s insurance provider for a monthly premium?
• Does the state offer Short-Term Disability coverage? How many weeks and at what percentage?
• Do I have to use state Short-Term Disability benefits first if they’re available (see Short-Term Disability chapter above for more on this issue)?
• Can I take additional time under the Short-Term Disability policy if I have complications?
• How and when do I apply for Short-Term Disability?
• Is there a waiting period before I can collect benefits?
How and When to Request Maternity Leave
After you feel comfortable spreading the news of your pregnancy (for many women this isn’t until after the end of the first trimester), you should think about telling your boss the big news. Under FMLA, you are required to request
leave at least 30 days before you plan to take it. But you may want to give your boss a little more notice than 30 days, just for practicality’s sake.
Take some time to think through the issues covered above and to decide what, if anything, you want to negotiate or request in addition to or in lieu of the standard leave. You should also present your boss with a potential plan for how your work can be transitioned to others in your absence and then back to you upon your return.
This approach, having already done some of the heavy mental lifting involved with your leave, will help to impress and soften up your supervisor. Especially if you want to suggest an novel approach to your maternity leave or a flexible schedule upon your return. Similarly, the earlier you approach the boss with this plan, the better. You will be better off if your supervisor and co-workers (with your help, of course) have plenty of time to implement your transition plans.
When Should I Start my Leave? Should I Work Up Until I Give Birth or Take Leave Beforehand?
This one’s totally up to you. Your employer cannot force you to take off because of the advanced stages of your pregnancy as long as you can still physically do your job. You and your doctor will have to decide if your pregnancy should result in any workplace restrictions.
Your decision to stop working will depend on your energy level, your (and your baby’s) physical status, and the stress and physical labor involved in your job. You will obviously have financial considerations as well. The more leave you take before the baby is born, the less leave you generally have to take after she arrives.
What If My Employer Refuses to Allow Me To Take Maternity Leave?
You’ll first need to determine if any applicable state or federal law applies to your employer and to you. See the FMLA chapter above and the Appendix at the conclusion of this text to learn about the qualifications for coverage under those laws.
If you are sure that the law is on your side and you are entitled to job-protected leave, contact your regional office of the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division (or your state labor agency) to file a complaint.
The DOL will inquire into the complaint and, if necessary, will investigate your complaint and may sue your employer on your behalf. You may also hire a lawyer who is familiar with FMLA and employees’ rights to advise you.
Proceed to - How to Arrange and Negotiate Maternity Leave (page 2 of 2)
