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Prepare for Maternity Leave
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Step 1:
Research your rights
In terms of U.S. labor law, things like pregnancy, childbirth, adoption, and caring for newborns are categorized as disabilities. This means that much of the protection you receive--from getting your job back, to receiving compensation, to maintaining health benefits--is due to labor laws protecting workers who must take time off due to medical disabilities. Here's what to expect:
National policy. In the U.S., two federal laws protect pregnant workers:
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires companies employing 15 or more people to give pregnant employees the same health, disability, and sick-leave benefits given to any employee who has a medical condition. Note: If your company doesn't already offer these things to all its employees, it need not offer them to you.
Further, it prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related disabilities, and makes it illegal for your employer to fire you due to pregnancy or to force you to take mandatory maternity leave.
Under the act, you can work as long as you can perform your job, and you must be granted alternate assignments or modified tasks if you're unable to continue with your usual routine. This law guarantees your job security while you're on leave.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to companies with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius of your office's location. It allows either parent up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in any 12-month period for the birth or adoption of a baby--if this parent has worked at her or his current position for a full year. This leave may be taken intermittently or all at the same time. Under this law, when you return you must be given a position equivalent to the one you left.
State laws. In the U.S., state laws may offer varying amendments to federal laws. About half of the states have passed legislation dealing with parental leave, and some even provide disability insurance for those who take a break from work due to pregnancy or birth. To find out more, contact your state labor office. Look in the phone book under state government agencies, or type your state name and the words "labor office" into a search engine on a computer.
Note: In some states, an employer is allowed to deny job restoration to employees making salaries in the top 10 percent compensation bracket in the company. If you make such a salary, check with state laws to see if this is true for your case.
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