I know I have a while to think about this, but I'm not sure what to do with my employer.

I know I get 6 weeks of short term disability pay, and I will NOT qualify for the FMLA because I'm due in February, and my start date was in March. I am sure I qualify for short term disability because you have to be there 6 months, and I'll have been there 11 by my due date.

Anyway, I don't want to tell them I'm not planning on coming back after my maternity leave is up. I want my maternity pay, and I want to leave the door open should something arise where I'd HAVE to go back.

I haven't told them I'm PG yet, I plan to wait until I get past the first trimester to do so (unless m/s is so bad that I can't hide it). What do I say if they ask about me coming back to work? I don't want to LIE, but I think it's unfair to have them expecting me back when I'm not coming back.

Also, when and how do I tell them when my leave's up that I'm not coming back? I want my maternity leave pay, so I don't want to say anything until it's almost up.

Thanks to anyone who's read this far. :lol:

Legally, they can't ask you. You don't have to tell them a thing until you're ready to. I didn't say for sure whether or not I was coming back until the time came for me to come back, but pretty much everyone guessed it. :lol: I would be as vague as possible, and if they ask you outright, say you're still not sure what you'll do. I always said this, when asked by co-workers:
"At this point, I'm planning to be back, but who knows? It could be that the baby will come and I won't be able to leave her side, and I'll decide not to. I probably won't know for sure until I've had a little time to spend with her. :) "

In Maryland, it is against the law for them to ask your intentions (I used to deal with this type of stuff for a living!) So don't volunteer anything. First, check your employee policy, because you might be required to use any vacation/sick time before your paid leave starts (my company had this), so that will impact how much you get paid in the first place.

I agree w/ what everyone has said so far. Don't volunteer anything. be vague and if by chance you are asked flat out... you've got to remember that you've got to do what's best for "you". Alot of things change after a woman has her first baby... she may have every intention of coming back but then the baby comes and they change their mind... and i think that's pretty well-known. so.. you could say, "yeh I'm coming back" and then if you don't they couldn't blame you becuz a new baby is a life-changing event and noone knows exactly how they're going to feel until it happens. :)

In my case, even though I had been with the company for 5 years I didn't qualify for short or long term disability. So the only maternity pay I received was for the first two weeks(vacation). I did qualify for the FMLA, and used it so that I could continue to have benefits. When everyone would ask if I was coming back I would just say "Well, I have to work, it's not like we can live off of just one income." The loophole, I didn't say I would be coming back to work there. (ha ha) Honestly, I had been trying to get out of there for some time and even though I knew living off of one income would be tight, I hoped I wouldn't have to go back. Before the baby came I told them I would take my two weeks paid vacation and 6 weeks of the FMLA for a total of 8 weeks off. I stopped into work around the 6th week to drop off some papers and told them I wasn't ready to go back. Actually, I told them that my doctor hadn't released me from her care yet. With the FMLA you have to have your doctors consent to return to work. I asked them for an additional 4 weeks off. The week before I was to return I mailed my resignation letter. As mentioned before you have to do what is best for you and your family. Even though our financial situation isn't really ideal for my staying home, we make it work. I know that if had returned to my job (which I didn't really enjoy all that much anyway) I wouldn't have been very productive. I would have always been thinking about our little one. I love being a stay home mommy and feel like this is the best job in the world to have.

Oh, and I didn't tell them I was expecting until I was 14 weeks and I began wearing maternity wear at 10.

Good luck.

amy make sure you check your std policy, some companies will make you pay back any insurance premiums paid to you while out if you do not return to work.

when I announced my PG to my boss, she asked if I had intentions of returning to work after my mat leave was up. I didn't feel right lying because I wanted the transition on my students to be smooth, but I also didn't want to lose my 6 weeks STD. I told her I wasn't sure, that it would depend on finances (which was true). SHe told me it wouldn't matter since I'd get STD whether or not I came back. Check with your state for what the conditions are.