Are employers obligated to pay you for maternity leave?
ByOr are they just required to let you have the time off? How long is maternity leave? Can you choose how long you want to be out for or is there a set amount of time? A lot of questions, I know, sorry. Tell me everything you know about this please:)
I live in California.
Related posts:
- How much maternity leave can I take?
- What does maternity leave pay in the state of California?
- What week did you started your maternity leave?
- How long do you need to work somewhere in California before you can take maternity leave through the governmen?
- Can maternity (”convo-leave”) also be terminal leave?
8 Comments
April 29th, 2010 at 2:25 am
Maternity leave in California is 3 months. I don’t think that employers are legally required to give you the time off, but I’ve never heard of an employer refusing to pay a woman for maternity leave. If my boss refused to give me maternity leave, I would have just quit
April 29th, 2010 at 2:35 am
Depends on each company policy in each state. It is always in the Employee handbook how much time is given off, if any is paid time…things of that nature. For some you have to work for the company for a certain length of time before it is paid and that can affect how much approved time you get off but for some companies they don’t pay but will give a set amount of time off (usually 6-8 wks some say 12 wks). Some will let you set how long you want to be off but won’t pay you for any or atleast most of it. Really you have to check with the company on the policy. The place I was working at when i got pregnant with my first son gave 8-12 wks off but it was all unpaid. The company my friend worked for gave her 6 wks paid and the rest was unpaid and let her decide how much time she needed off. Financially she couldn’t afford to stay off after 12 wks.
April 29th, 2010 at 3:20 am
No, they are not obligated to pay you. They can make you resign and tell you they’ll give you your position back if it is available when your maternity leave is over. Usually it depends on how long you’ve been with your work place and how long you’ve had your job. Some work places will pay you for part of it if you have earned vacation or leave time depending on how such things work with your employer. Such things would need to be discussed with your supervisor. Maternity leave depends on what your doctor advises. I have heard of some doctors allowing women to return to work as early as two weeks and some as late as 8. Typically it is 6 weeks for a vaginal birth and 8 weeks for a c-section. I had two c-sections, I got 6 weeks with my first and 8 weeks with my second but he would have gladly given me 10. I had no need to return to work so it didn’t really matter.
April 29th, 2010 at 3:36 am
The FMLA requires companies to give workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave due to the birth or adoption of a child. However, payment of pregnancy as a disability depends both on the employer and the state. In California, women receive 4 weeks of disability before their due date and 6 weeks after for normal delivery, 12 weeks for a C-section. My former employer also paid the difference between my salary and what CA SDI paid so I got paid the same amount as my salary since disability only pays a certain amount relative to your income.
Ask your HR and your state government for more information re your rights.
April 29th, 2010 at 3:53 am
Your employer doesn’t pay for the leave, the government does…or your benefits. I couldn’t find anything for California…best thing would be to go to your city hall and ask them.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:36 am
time off without it affecting your job status,unless in your employee hand book it states about paying you for maternity leave otherwise,no.
it is considered FMLA,family medical leave act if they violate it they can be in violation and get sued.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:49 am
it just depends on your insurance. at my job we get a loa for maternity leave and if we want to we can apply for short term disability and i think we get 70% of our pay
April 29th, 2010 at 5:21 am
Employers are not required by law to pay you for maternity leave. Most employers do have to give you unpaid maternity leave under the Family Medical Leave Act. I work for the federal government and they do not pay for maternity leave. You have to use you annual and sick time or you do not get paid.