We had our annual company meeting today. They are cracking down on sick time use...I'll make that another post...

One of the new policies is that only 240 hrs (6 weeks) of paid accrued sick time may be used for maternity leave.

What are the FMLA rules? If I have 12 weeks of sick time saves, can't I use that to get paid for my FMLA time?

It's a company of 129 full time employees so they have to give us FMLA - 12 weeks unpaid. But I thought we could legally use sick or vacation time for that 12 weeks.

Can they put this limit on sick time used for maternity leave?

Also pisses me off that there are only 10 women in the whole company, and only 4 of them have had babies in the 6 years I've been there. This limit is really not going to make a huge difference in sick time spent.

I'm pretty sure it's at the employer's discretion as to whether you can (or have to) use sick time or vacation time for all or part of the leave.

Also, fathers are entitled to FMLA time as well so the policy doesn't just affect the 10 women.

It sounds like a real family-friendly company. :rolleyes:

Dennis

Also, fathers are entitled to FMLA time as well so the policy doesn't just affect the 10 women.One of my coworker's wives just had a baby - their 3rd, a planned c-section. He got an email before the baby was born that basically said that he could only use his sick time if there was absolutely no one else to take care of his wife. And he was only expected to take 1 week off. His wife ended up with a uterine infection and was in the hospital for 7 days so he took 2 weeks off and they questioned him about it.

According to the new policy, he wouldn't be able to use sick time at all (since they don't really allow the men to take maternity leave).

Brooke, I found this on the FMLA FAQ page:
Q: Does the law guarantee paid time off?

No. The FMLA only requires unpaid leave. However, the law permits an employee to elect, or the employer to require the employee, to use accrued paid leave, such as vacation or sick leave, for some or all of the FMLA leave period. When paid leave is substituted for unpaid FMLA leave, it may be counted against the 12-week FMLA leave entitlement if the employee is properly notified of the designation when the leave begins.Here's the link to the Dept. of Labor FMLA info:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

(I've had that saved since we had Victoria because Jim's boss was being a huge jerk.)

One of my coworker's wives just had a baby - their 3rd, a planned c-section. He got an email before the baby was born that basically said that he could only use his sick time if there was absolutely no one else to take care of his wife. And he was only expected to take 1 week off. His wife ended up with a uterine infection and was in the hospital for 7 days so he took 2 weeks off and they questioned him about it.

According to the new policy, he wouldn't be able to use sick time at all (since they don't really allow the men to take maternity leave).

They're required by law to allow men to take leave under the FMLA and I'm pretty sure their policy regarding sick time has to apply to everyone. I would've taken that e-mail and show it to the appropriate gov't agency (I forget off-hand which one it is). That's a blatant violation of the law.

Dennis

Brooke,

My company is the same way. You can take 13 weeks of FMLA, but you can only use 6 weeks of sick time (8 if you have a c-section). They consider that the time you are recovering. We can use vacation, though.

Yep- Dennis is 100% right...as a father, he is completely entitled to 12 weeks of FMLA. Unpaid, of course. And yes..its totally up to the company whether or not they allow you to use any sick pay while you are on an FMLA leave.

Your company is really hurting themselves by limiting the sick pay. So once you return to work, you still have sick pay left and could use it. Whereas if you had used it all up, you may be less apt to take any time off. KWIM?

Your company is really hurting themselves by limiting the sick pay. So once you return to work, you still have sick pay left and could use it. Whereas if you had used it all up, you may be less apt to take any time off. KWIM?
But if you use what's left, it will go against you during your performance review and it will impact your raise. :mope:

But if you use what's left, it will go against you during your performance review and it will impact your raise. :mope:

I'm really curious why people stay at this company if they treat their employees so poorly.

I'm really curious why people stay at this company if they treat their employees so poorly.I stay here because if I went to work at the closest place that does the same work, my commute would be over an hour each way. And right now I only commute 10 minutes each way.

I need to change careers but I don't really know where to go or what I want to do.

And, not all the men are great dads like you, Dennis (I'm being sincere). The men here are all willing to work 18 hrs a day every day and never see their kids. You should have been here the day one of the senior engineers decided to work 30 hrs a week from home to be with his new baby because he missed her too much. You would have thought the world was ending and the company was going to collapse because he put his family first.

And, not all the men are great dads like you, Dennis (I'm being sincere). The men here are all willing to work 18 hrs a day every day and never see their kids. You should have been here the day one of the senior engineers decided to work 30 hrs a week from home to be with his new baby because he missed her too much. You would have thought the world was ending and the company was going to collapse because he put his family first.

Thanks Brooke.

I think it's really sad that so many people still have those attitudes. I've probably been spoiled because I've been fortunate to work for family-friendly companies.

Dennis

My company is the same way. You can take 13 weeks of FMLA, but you can only use 6 weeks of sick time (8 if you have a c-section). They consider that the time you are recovering. We can use vacation, though.
This is how my company is, as well.

I thought you might want to know that you don't have to take all of your FMLA leave at once. You can take the first 6 weeks as a block and then the rest of the time whenever you need it. As long as the whole time doesn't exceed 12 weeks you're fine. Some companies have a separate FMLA time section (as in sick, vacation, personal or FMLA days off). This way if you have a sick relative (ie parent) and you need to take him/her to doctors appointments, you can use say 4 hours as FMLA time.

Additionally, you don't have to take your FMLA time right after the baby is born! You have one year to complete FMLA time from the date that your baby is born. So if you want to take 12 weeks, and then when you go back your DH wants to take 12 weeks from his work, he can (as long as his job is required to follow FMLA). However, there is a loophole where if you two work for the same employer TOGETHER you are only eligible for 12 weeks.

You may want to look up your state's rules. For example Connecticut allows for 16 weeks of leave and they lowered the employee requirement (they only require 15 employees).

I thought you might want to know that you don't have to take all of your FMLA leave at once. You can take the first 6 weeks as a block and then the rest of the time whenever you need it. As long as the whole time doesn't exceed 12 weeks you're fine. .Actually, that isnt necessarily true. For a birth or adoption, employers dont have to let you take it intermittently if it doesnt work for them. The FMLA paperwork that I used clearly spelled that out (i used to be director of hr)