Your company maternity/std policy

[kim]

the vacation thread got me thinking about this. what is your maternity leave like? i put std on there as many companies use this for mat. leave.


we use std. i get 8 weeks vag, 10 weeks c-section, paid at 100% of salary. if you use fmla is it concurrent so the max you can be out is 12 wks total.


i know 100% of salary is rare. i feel damn lucky. however, we do not accrue vacation time while on std so i lose almost 5 days :complain: plus you need to use 5 days of your own time for the first week of std. that burns my butt as i'll basically be losing 10 days pto!!!!!

[Jenn]

We can use STD for 6 weeks (vaginal delivery) up to 8 weeks (c-section) and it's at 66 2/3% of our pay. I believe we have to wait 7 days from the birth to apply for it and in the mean time we can use our sick or vacation time.

We can use FLMA and actually get 16 weeks under FLMA. Our difference has something to do with us having an office in Washington, DC and the law being slightly different there. :dunno: The FLMA is also concurrent with our STD.

We don't acrue vacation while out on leave, either.

[Brooke]

We don't have STD.

We can take 12 weeks unpaid. The new rule that they just made is that we can only use 6 weeks of sick time for maternity leave. If we have vacation, we can use that. Otherwise, it's without pay.

ETA - our long-term disability doesn't kick in until after 90 working days (18 weeks).

[Marcella]

My company offers STD, but I haven't taken advantage of that. I probably should, now that we're talking about #2.

Without STD, I got up to 12 weeks off through FMLA (I took the full 12). You have to use accrued sick or vacation time to get paid, otherwise, it's unpaid. Fortunately, I had so much sick time accrued that I was able to get paid full salary for my entire 12 weeks off.

I'm not too familiar with our STD policy, but I do know that, even using that, you can still only take up to 12 weeks off total. I guess with STD you get paid through that before needing to start using vacation/sick time.

[Lyndee]

We get 6 weeks STD (begins on delivery day) for vaginal delivery and then on the 46th day, LTD kicks in if you have a c-sect. (doesn't really matter which pot the money comes from because we still get paid 100% anyway). Then we get 2 weeks parental leave at fully pay that you can take within the first year of the baby's birth. All vacation time continues to accrue even if you're on leave. I think our company just recently changed our FMLA policy to 6 months.

[Nichole]

We can use STD for 6 weeks (vaginal delivery) up to 8 weeks (c-section) and it's at 66 2/3% of our pay. I believe we have to wait 7 days from the birth to apply for it and in the mean time we can use our sick or vacation time.
This is how our STD is, too. Then we get 12 weeks FMLA that starts after STD runs out. There's a new CA law that goes into effect in July (I think) that will make the 12 week FMLA partially paid as well. I think it will also be 66 2/3% of salary like STD.

We don't accrue vacation while on leave, either. We also have to pay our insurance premiums while we're out (since they're deducted from our paycheck).

[Dennis]

i know 100% of salary is rare. i feel damn lucky. however, we do not accrue vacation time while on std so i lose almost 5 days :complain: plus you need to use 5 days of your own time for the first week of std. that burns my butt as i'll basically be losing 10 days pto!!!!!

Those are both pretty standard, at least at the companies I've worked for.

I don't think my company has a formal policy, we only have 15 employees so we're not covered by FMLA. We do have STD although I have no idea how much it covers.

Mary's company gives 6 weeks of STD at 80% pay and then 12 weeks unpaid, although you can use PTO for part of the 12 weeks if you want. They also have the week of PTO before the STD kicks in.

Dennis

[miacat]

I work for a state government. Everyone can get up to 12 weeks unpaid. You can request 6 months without pay (which I did). You can use accrued vacation/sick time for any or all of the time off you choose to take. If you run out of vacation/sick time before 6 weeks vaginal or 8 weeks cesearean, you can go on short-term disability IF you have chosen that benefit and paid the deductible. I have so much vacation and sick time accrued that I was never eligible to use my STD.

I took 6 months off instead of the standard 3 months, and I choose to do it half paid and half unpaid so I could still have ample sick time available when I went back to work. This was a very smart thing to do given how often we have been to the doctor in the last year.

[bunybomb]

We can use STD for 6 weeks (vaginal delivery) up to 8 weeks (c-section) and it's at 66 2/3% of our pay. I believe we have to wait 7 days from the birth to apply for it and in the mean time we can use our sick or vacation time.

We don't acrue vacation while out on leave, either.
This is exactly what my company offers. I felt very fortunate!

[Lyndee]

i know 100% of salary is rare. i feel damn lucky. however, we do not accrue vacation time while on std so i lose almost 5 days :complain: plus you need to use 5 days of your own time for the first week of std. that burns my butt as i'll basically be losing 10 days pto!!!!!

I thought that 100% was standard. I guess I was wrong (and count me in on being damn lucky). It has just been recently that I've seen at the boards or heard from people who didn't get maternity leave pay. My SIL was working for Mitsubishi in New York City and they provided zero benefits for maternity anything! All the companies that I've looked at or worked for always offered 100% pay. Maybe that's just typical in my area? :dunno:

[Brooke]

It has just been recently that I've seen at the boards or heard from people who didn't get maternity leave pay. My SIL was working for Mitsubishi in New York City and they provided zero benefits for maternity anything!
I'm in Baltimore and I don't get any paid maternity leave time. I don't think it's the area, I think it's specific to the company.

[kim]

I thought that 100% was standard.
nope. my mom works in an insurance company in claims. she used to do std claims and says most companies (at least around here) only pay 662/3 of salary. no one i know irl gets 100%.

each company sets it's own std policy.

[Martian Lullaby]

We get six weeks of short-term disability at 60% of your normal pay. You can also use your vacation time if you want to extend it. So I had to go back to work when I was six weeks old, as I didn't have any vacation left. (Though I'd be a SAHM, so I used them up.) But I only have two weeks a year, though, so it still wouldn't have been as long as I wanted.

[Darcy]

Mine is so confusing. I get 3 weeks STD at 100% pay. Then there's a "float week" where I either use PTO or take it unpaid. Then, if it's a normal delivery, I get 2 weeks LTD at 60%, or C-section is 4 weeks LTD at 60% pay. If I want to take advantage of the full 12 weeks for FMLA, the company FORCES you to use your PTO. :fuming: So since my leave occurred during the new year (which equals more PTO), I was forced to use up all my 2004 PTO before the end of January!! Sure, because my daughter will only be sick during the weekends. :rolleyes:

It makes me so irritated, especially since DH works in HR for one of Working Mother's Top 100 companies to work for. I so wish I worked at a normal company that didn't force you to do all these things just to stay home with your child. When I complained to the head of HR, she told me if I didn't want to be forced to use my PTO, then I should just come back to work after 6 weeks! :mad:

[NickiB]

Let's see, we have STD at 66 2/3 % up to a max amount of $$, I forgot what that was. That is 6 weeks for vaginal del. and 8 weeks for c-section. Then in addition we get the CA FMLA which is called the CFRA or something like that, it is 12 additional weeks which is unpaid, but you have to take all of your sick time and then have the option to take your vacation time as well. I took all of my sick and vacation time which equaled about 5.5 weeks since I was off for 17 weeks total. So I was paid 6 weeks of STD and then 5.5 weeks of my sick and vacation time, the last 5.5 weeks were unpaid. :(

The good news is there is a new law that goes into effect July 1, that give $$ for the CFRA. So that will be good if we have another baby.

[Bev]

Well, my situation is totally different, living in a country that actually cares about mothers/parents. All workers are entitled to 12 months maternity/parental leave (it is divided up 35 weeks mat & 17 weeks parental, or vice versa I forget, so Dad's can take leave if they want to). If you worked enough hours you are entitled to Employment Insurance (max payment is $710 bi-weekly). I work for the federal government so I get topped up to 93% of my pay.

Now let me get this straight, this FMLA, it isn't time off with pay, nor is it even time off without pay because you have to use short term disability in most cases? Or you are using your vacation time so you get paid? I mean, why does it exist then? Is it totally bogus, or am I just not getting the concept.

[Dennis]

Bev, here's the gist of how the FMLA works:

Companies that are covered by the law, which is basically all companies with 50 or more employees, are required to give 12 weeks of parental leave (and for certain other situations). This leave can be completely unpaid if the company chooses. The company can require you to use any sick/vacation time as part of this leave, and if the company provides STD coverage, they can include that in the 12 weeks as well.

Basically the law mandates that you can take up to 12 weeks off for parental leave. Whether the leave is paid or unpaid, if you have to use vacation or sick time (or have the option to use it if you choose) is up to the discretion of each company.

Dennis

[Brooke]

The purpose of the FMLA law is to guarantee an employee an equal job when they return to work. It can be used to care for a sick relative, a new baby, or an adopted child. So, new moms can take 12 weeks off and not worry about losing their job. However, it doesn't guarantee you the SAME job, just one that's equivalent.

Also, the 12 weeks is spread over a one-year period. So it's 12 weeks per year. And there's a funky clause that says that if husband and wife work for the same company, they can only take 12 weeks total between them. That sucks because my friend and her DH work together and are trying to have a baby and that really limits their time off.

[Jen A]

I'm in the same situation as Bev. I took 6 months off when Austin was born (max available in 1998), paid at 55% of my salary. I got a year when Jack was born, also paid at 55% of my salary. My employer does not offer the "top-up" option, and I haven't met many people who have that available to them. And it's 17 wks maternity, 35 parental. ;)

From what I can gather, the main difference between the Canadian & US systems is WHO pays for the leave. In Canada, it's funded by our Employment Insurance program. If you work, you pay into the program. If you're laid off, you get EI. If you go on mat leave, you get EI. In both cases, a minimum # of hours is required, during a specific time period preceding your claim. In the US, the burden of paying employees on mat leave is on the company, and seems to be focused on the employee's available STD/LTD/PTO time.

[Eva]

I'm in the same situation as Bev. I took 6 months off when Austin was born (max available in 1998), paid at 55% of my salary. I got a year when Jack was born, also paid at 55% of my salary. My employer does not offer the "top-up" option, and I haven't met many people who have that available to them. And it's 17 wks maternity, 35 parental. ;)


I was topped up to 85% (55% EI and 30% for my employer) for 17 wks. I believe it is my union contract. After that I recieved and still am until July 55% of my salary from EI.

[Dennis]

From what I can gather, the main difference between the Canadian & US systems is WHO pays for the leave. In Canada, it's funded by our Employment Insurance program. If you work, you pay into the program. If you're laid off, you get EI. If you go on mat leave, you get EI. In both cases, a minimum # of hours is required, during a specific time period preceding your claim. In the US, the burden of paying employees on mat leave is on the company, and seems to be focused on the employee's available STD/LTD/PTO time.

That's exactly it. There's no way something like that would ever get approved in the U.S. because there are such strong anti-tax feelings. Both systems have their pros and cons.

Dennis

[kim]

. And there's a funky clause that says that if husband and wife work for the same company, they can only take 12 weeks total between them. .
marc and i work at the same company as well and this really yanks my chain :nod:

[mama2jackson]

I get straight FMLA for 12 weeks unpaid if I want it. I can also use my vacation time, sick time and personal time (about 5 weeks per year right now). I'm looking into STD for my next mat leave as it is quite expensive per paycheck...it's not automatically offered. I need to find out exactly when I need to start paying into STD because I don't want to pay unless I have to.

The thing that really sucks is we really have to plan to have a baby...if we have an "oooops" between now and the next time our tax retund check comes, we are pretty much screwed.