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VIII. Paternity Leave
Dads-to-be already know that moms-to-be tend to get all the attention during a pregnancy. And you may have noticed that most of the leave discussion in this book and elsewhere focuses on maternity and pregnancy leave.
But don’t forget that dads can take leave when the baby arrives too! In fact, it is becoming more common and more accepted as time goes by.
Paternity leave is the time a father takes off work at the birth or adoption of a child. Like maternity leave, the length and financial aspects of paternity leave are determined somewhere in the intersection of FMLA, state law and company policies. It might be paid or unpaid. It might be two weeks or 12.
The one common factor among every leave situation is a new breed of dad who is taking family leave from his job to spend more time with his newborn child.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Other Leave Provisions
Yes Dad, FMLA applies to you too when the baby arrives. As discussed in great detail above, FMLA provides many workers with 12 weeks of unpaid time off to care for an immediate family member, such as a newborn or newly adopted child, or for a recovering spouse.
The specifics regarding qualifications for FMLA are covered above. Basically, employers of a certain size are required by federal law to allow their employees (both men and women) 12 weeks of unpaid family leave after the birth or adoption of a child.
At the end of your FMLA leave, your employer must allow you to return to your job or an equivalent job with the same salary, benefits, working conditions, and seniority. (There are some exceptions discussed above.) You and your employer may be covered by FMLA. If not, you may have additional options for your paternity leave.
If you’re not eligible under FMLA, you may still be eligible for leave under your state’s leave statute or under your company’s policy or your union’s collective bargaining agreement. Check out our Appendix of state leave provisions for the applicable laws and regulations in your own state.
Your company can require that your paid leave be counted against the FMLA’s 12 weeks. Some states allow you to take the full 12 weeks AND whatever paid leave you’ve taken. Your company policy can also allow this. FMLA allows you to use your unpaid leave however you want within the first 12 months after your child is born or adopted. You can take one 12 week block of time. Or, if your employers approves, you can spread it out in smaller parcels of time or even by reducing your daily or weekly work schedule.
Will My New Family Lose Its Health Insurance if I’m Not Working?
FMLA requires a covered employer to continue your health insurance coverage (including family and/or spouse coverage if you had it before your leave) while you’re on leave. If you are on unpaid leave, your employer will typically pay your premiums for you but then ask you to reimburse the company the amount usually taken out of your paycheck to cover your share of the premium.
Your employer can stop paying your premiums and can even require you to reimburse it for money spent to maintain your health insurance while you were on leave, if you tell your company you don’t plan to return to work following your leave (for non-medical reasons) or if your job is eliminated while you’re gone.
As far as other benefits go, you may not be so lucky. Your company does not have to count your leave time as time worked in order to qualify for vacation accrual, seniority-based raises, 401k vesting or participation, vesting of stock options and flexible spending account participation.
Will I Get Passed Over for Promotions or Bonuses if I Take Paternity Leave?
It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee who has taken FMLA leave. This, of course, doesn’t mean that some form of discrimination might still happen. Some effects of taking paternity leave though might be pretty subtle.
To figure out how paternity leave might affect your particular job, ask around and find out whether other men at your company have taken paternity leave and how they felt they were treated by supervisors, colleagues and the company.
But don’t forget that dads can take leave when the baby arrives too! In fact, it is becoming more common and more accepted as time goes by.
Paternity leave is the time a father takes off work at the birth or adoption of a child. Like maternity leave, the length and financial aspects of paternity leave are determined somewhere in the intersection of FMLA, state law and company policies. It might be paid or unpaid. It might be two weeks or 12.
The one common factor among every leave situation is a new breed of dad who is taking family leave from his job to spend more time with his newborn child.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Other Leave Provisions
Yes Dad, FMLA applies to you too when the baby arrives. As discussed in great detail above, FMLA provides many workers with 12 weeks of unpaid time off to care for an immediate family member, such as a newborn or newly adopted child, or for a recovering spouse.
The specifics regarding qualifications for FMLA are covered above. Basically, employers of a certain size are required by federal law to allow their employees (both men and women) 12 weeks of unpaid family leave after the birth or adoption of a child.
At the end of your FMLA leave, your employer must allow you to return to your job or an equivalent job with the same salary, benefits, working conditions, and seniority. (There are some exceptions discussed above.) You and your employer may be covered by FMLA. If not, you may have additional options for your paternity leave.
If you’re not eligible under FMLA, you may still be eligible for leave under your state’s leave statute or under your company’s policy or your union’s collective bargaining agreement. Check out our Appendix of state leave provisions for the applicable laws and regulations in your own state.
Your company can require that your paid leave be counted against the FMLA’s 12 weeks. Some states allow you to take the full 12 weeks AND whatever paid leave you’ve taken. Your company policy can also allow this. FMLA allows you to use your unpaid leave however you want within the first 12 months after your child is born or adopted. You can take one 12 week block of time. Or, if your employers approves, you can spread it out in smaller parcels of time or even by reducing your daily or weekly work schedule.
Will My New Family Lose Its Health Insurance if I’m Not Working?
FMLA requires a covered employer to continue your health insurance coverage (including family and/or spouse coverage if you had it before your leave) while you’re on leave. If you are on unpaid leave, your employer will typically pay your premiums for you but then ask you to reimburse the company the amount usually taken out of your paycheck to cover your share of the premium.
Your employer can stop paying your premiums and can even require you to reimburse it for money spent to maintain your health insurance while you were on leave, if you tell your company you don’t plan to return to work following your leave (for non-medical reasons) or if your job is eliminated while you’re gone.
As far as other benefits go, you may not be so lucky. Your company does not have to count your leave time as time worked in order to qualify for vacation accrual, seniority-based raises, 401k vesting or participation, vesting of stock options and flexible spending account participation.
Will I Get Passed Over for Promotions or Bonuses if I Take Paternity Leave?
It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee who has taken FMLA leave. This, of course, doesn’t mean that some form of discrimination might still happen. Some effects of taking paternity leave though might be pretty subtle.
To figure out how paternity leave might affect your particular job, ask around and find out whether other men at your company have taken paternity leave and how they felt they were treated by supervisors, colleagues and the company.
Talk to Your Co-Workers When Investigating the Possibility of Paternity Leave
Depending on the size and nature of your business, you may or may not be the first guy in the office to take paternity leave. Ask around to find out how other men at your company handled the request for and the execution of their paternity leaves.
Questions for your Co-Workers:
• How did the boss and our colleagues react when you asked about paternity leave?
• How much time did you take off and how did you structure your leave?
• What arrangements did you make to have your responsibilities covered while you were gone?
• Did you do any work from home while on leave?
• How did you transition back to work afterward?
• Did you work out any kind of flexible schedule after the baby was born?
• What HR hoops did you have to jump through in order for your leave to be approved? Are there specific forms to fill out? What are they and where did you get them?
• How would you do it now, if you could do it all over again?
How and When Should I Request My Paternity Leave?
FMLA requires you to request leave 30 days before you plan to take it. Your boss though may appreciate more than 30 days notice. You and your partner should discuss your respective leave options and decide fairly early if paternity leave is in the cards for your family.
You are always in a better negotiating position if you have thought out your plan ahead of time and give the boss plenty of time to consider how best to handle your absence. You should give your supervisor some ideas of how your work will be covered during your leave.
If your employer denies your request for leave and you’re sure that you qualify under FMLA or state law, make sure that you’ve covered your bases and complied with the notice requirements of the leave laws. Then politely remind your employer (either your boss or your HR department) that FMLA and/or state leave laws apply.
If they don’t ultimately come around to your position, you may file a complaint with the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. If the Labor Department is not able to get the matter resolved in your behalf, an investigation will be opened and your employer may be sued by the Labor Department. You can also bring a private civil suit.
If you don’t meet the FMLA qualification requirements and state law doesn’t apply (which is certainly possible in very small companies), you can still ask for paternity leave.
Although your company will not be obligated to grant you leave under any statute, it may be willing to negotiate some time off for a good employee. If you’re affiliated with a labor union, ask your union representative or your manager if you qualify for leave under union rules.
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 your paternity leave
Proceed to - Paternity Leave (page 2 of 2)
