Negotiating Mat Leave

pennstated912 · July 2013

I know I've talked about not qualifying for FMLA before but I was caught off guard by news from my boss that the CEO of the company is coming back to discuss my Mat Leave on Monday.

I will qualify for the 6 weeks of STD but with my medical history, I know that isn't going to be enough time. The stress of labor, plus the fact that they will be changing my medication dose again and the inevitable lack of sleep is pretty much a perfect storm for a seizure for me.

Since I have a medical issue, do you think I would be able to negotiate more time? My work is aware of the fact that I have epilepsy and that I haven't had a seizure in 20 years. And what would I have to provide for consideration? A medical note from my doctor? I just want to make sure that when I come back to work, I'm in a safe place that won't require me to take even more time off because (g-d forbid) something happened.

botanicalbliss · July 2013

I think a medical note from your doctor will be able to excuse you from work if you aren't physically able to come back after 6 weeks. If it doesn't, I don't know what will! However, after your 6 weeks,you may be on an unpaid leave.

pennstated912 · July 2013

botanicalbliss:
I think a medical note from your doctor will be able to excuse you from work if you aren't physically able to come back after 6 weeks. If it doesn't, I don't know what will! However, after your 6 weeks,you may be on an unpaid leave.

I am totally fine with unpaid leave. DH and I have made a financial plan to have 4 months of my salary in the bank by the time the baby is born.

My neuro told me today that they think that they are already going to have to up my medication. It will probably be double the dosage by the time the baby is born. Once raspberry is here, they are going to wean me back down to my normal dose. Anyone who was on GP for the past couple of months knows how traumatic that was and how sick I became. I had a few "close calls" during that time period. That's what scares me.

botanicalbliss · July 2013

Definitely bring all of this up when you talk to your boss. I feel like with your medical condition, you should be able to get more time.

PinkinProvence · July 2013

I think you can bring it all up in the conversation and hope they sympathize, but the law is on their side. FMLA is meant to protect your job - if you ask to take off more time than they think they can offer you, they have the right to fire you. It sounds like they have been very understanding so far though so don't worry yet!

TudorRose11 · July 2013

PinkinProvence:
I think you can bring it all up in the conversation and hope they sympathize, but the law is on their side. FMLA is meant to protect your job - if you ask to take off more time than they think they can offer you, they have the right to fire you. It sounds like they have been very understanding so far though so don't worry yet!

This. I think it also depends on your position and how important it would be to find a replacement right away should they need to.

For me, I had to use 8 weeks of FMLA for my surgery. FMLA only offers 12 weeks per calendar year, so I technically have 4 weeks FMLA protection for mat leave. I will still qualify for 6-8 weeks STD though (6 vaginal birth, 8 c-section).

I am planning on taking at least 8-10 either way because in my position, I know they will not be desperate to replace me as we have other members of management to cover evenly while I'm out. Technically they could make the decision to fire me legally, but I don't feel that is a reality because they don't need a replacement for my position.

pennstated912 · July 2013

TudorRose11:
I think it also depends on your position and how important it would be to find a replacement right away should they need to.
For me, I had to use 8 weeks of FMLA for my surgery. FMLA only offers 12 weeks per calendar year, so I technically have 4 weeks FMLA protection for mat leave. I will still qualify for 6-8 weeks STD though (6 vaginal birth, 8 c-section).
I am planning on taking at least 8-10 either way because in my position, I know they will not be desperate to replace me as we have other members of management to cover evenly while I'm out. Technically they could make the decision to fire me legally, but I don't feel that is a reality because they don't need a replacement for my position.

I am a Marketing Administrative Assistant. I have two jobs roles into one. I do the office work (get mail, send faxes, answer phones, etc) and I'm at the bottom of the totem poll in the marketing dept. To be honest, if I was just Marketing, I would able to work FT from home, but since I do admin work as well, it requires me to come in. However, there is already a woman (she worked PT for the company and was let go because they wanted a FT person) that said if I ever was out on leave or vacation that she would come in for me.

ETA: fixing typos

wiggyslilsis · July 2013

I think you should definitely bring that up in the meeting and hope for compassion. It may help to say that the extra time will help you to come back as a more productive employee because if something were to happen or even if you are just feeling terrible you won't be able to be the best employee and would likely end up taking more time.