How Long Can You Legally Take Maternity Leave?
The short answer is that, according to U.S. law, you can take 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave without having your job in jeopardy. Here’s the long answer with the facts. In 1993, President Bill Clinton passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which protects the job of any worker who takes time away from work due to a serious illness, a sick family member, or to care for a newborn, adopted, or foster child. The law says if you have worked for your company for 12 months and at least 1,250 hours, and the company has 50 or more employees within 75 miles, you may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period under certain circumstances.
How Long Is the Average Maternity Leave?
Your doctor will say your body needs 6 weeks to recover from childbirth and 8 weeks if you had a c-section. FMLA will protect your job for 12 weeks, but that time may be unpaid. So, the real question is: How long can you afford to take unpaid leave? As of 2022, 55% of employers in the U.S. offer paid maternity leave, and 45% offer paid paternity leave. The average paid parental leave period is 8 weeks. It’s best for you (and your partner if raising the child together) to speak with your respective employers about expectations surrounding parental leave. Look into your company’s policy, get a sense of your friends’ and family’s availability
How Does Short-Term Disability Work for Maternity Leave?
Short-term disability will offer you 6 weeks pay for a normal childbirth and 8 weeks for a c-section. The rest of your maternity leave will be unpaid and job-protected with FMLA if you work for a qualifying company. Short-term disability typically covers 50% of your paycheck. Check with your HR manager for the details. Short-term disablity doesn’t start paying out right away. First, there’s an “elimination period,” in which the insurance company confirms your disability. Your disability is that you gave birth to a child. You’ll need to account for this unpaid time in your budget if you’ll have bills due while waiting.
Do You Get Paid When You Are on Maternity Leave?
If you live in the United States, you do not get paid by the federal government while on maternity leave. Though now over half of employers offer some amount of paid parental leave. The Family and Medical Insurance leave (FMLI) or FAMILY Act was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013, but has not been enacted. The Act proposes guaranteed paid maternity leave, something many other nations already offer. Meanwhile, the National Conference of State Legislatures monitors state maternity leave laws. While less than a third of the states have them, many are working on some family-friendly workplace laws.
