Question About FMLA

[shihtzulover]

I started working for my company back in October (2012), but it was a temporary position in the department. I stayed in that position until February, which is when they promoted me to be the permanent manager of the department. I really love this job, and everyone that I work with is great.

My DH and I are starting to talk about TTC. We originally said that we would wait until we had been married for about a year, which would mean that we would begin TTC this fall. He has been talking about how he wouldn't mind being surprised though, and just yesterday we were at the zoo, and after seeing all of the families there, he admitted that going there makes him want a baby.

I waver back and forth between really wanting one and being so excited to experience pregnancy, to not being ready to give up my body yet. I know that might be selfish, but it's really my only worry. That, and the pain of childbirth, which has always really terrified me.

That being said, I have been reading TTC forums for years (since we were engaged), and I have loved looking at ultrasound pictures and imagining what it will be like when we are pregnant. We bought our house back in September and we love where we are, so in so many ways, we are ready.

I have a Paragard IUD, and I'm trying to decide when to have it taken out. I don't think we'll try super hard to get pregnant at first, but we tend to BD the most around my ovulation time anyway, since that's when I want it the most.

My question is this: when would I be eligible for FMLA with my company? Would I have to wait until I was in my permanent position for a year, or would it start from when I began with the company as a temp?

Everyone there is great and I probably wouldn't even have to worry about my job even if I weren't eligible for FMLA, but I always like to play it safe. Also, I know it might be silly, but I prefer to make sure that I'm only 24 weeks pregnant or less by the time I hit the eligibility mark, because I'm afraid that I will deliver really prematurely. I might be incorrect for thinking that way, but I am really petite (5 ft. tall) and my husband is tall and large-boned. For some reason, that makes me feel like I might not be able to carry our baby quite to term, although I hope that I can. Also, my mom had me a few weeks early, so I would rather err on the side of caution.

 

[Niel]

I'd ask your hr. BUT for me where I worked I was a temp employee for 2 years and started work there full time December 2011. I had my dd in June. I did not get FMLA because my full time status I had worked there less than a year. I did still get 6 weeks post partum maternity leave and up to 2 weeks prepartum as well. I also would have gotten 8 weeks post if I had a c section. (Which I really should have but that's a different story). But anyways, should just ask, but I'd say probably not until one year.

 

[Harpertoo]

I would look into your company's policy regarding maternity/parental leave and/or disibility plans. Believe it or not, giving birth falls under the disability plans for many/most employers....thus if you adopted, you would only be eligible if your employer had a more specific/generous parental leave policy including paid time off.
It is my understanding that FMLA is for F\T employees and it kicks in after 1 year of consecutive employment.
The Dept. of Labor outlines the info online I'm sure, but your employer may have more generous policies. FMLA is a very low standard in terms of benefits since it does not include pay, it only legally preserves your employment.

 

[ponder]

I would look into your company's policy regarding maternity/parental leave and/or disibility plans. Believe it or not, giving birth falls under the disability plans for many/most employers....thus if you adopted, you would only be eligible if your employer had a more specific/generous parental leave policy including paid time off.
It is my understanding that FMLA is for F\T employees and it kicks in after 1 year of consecutive employment.
The Dept. of Labor outlines the info online I'm sure, but your employer may have more generous policies. FMLA is a very low standard in terms of benefits since it does not include pay, it only legally preserves your employment.

First make sure that your company is even governed by FMLA. Not all companies are mandated to follow FMLA. The biggest determining factor is the size of the company. I work in an industry that very few companies meet the requirements to follow federal guidelines regarding FMLA and have know people to be "let go" over medical leave, adoption leave, etc.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Probably it depends on your company; where I work you must be full-time for a year. It's a question HR would have heard a lot, so don't feel weird asking it. Better to know now!

 

[qtiekiki]

Yeah, ask your HR and look into state laws. FMLA eligibility, as stated in the law, is after one year of full time employment.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I think the majority of companies cover you at the 1-year mark. If you have an employee handbook, it's likely outlined in there...if you don't want to ask HR.

Since it's mid-April and you still have your IUD in, I think it's safe to assume you won't be delivering before February of next year. You'd have to hit a trifecta of coincidences (1. Ovulate immediately after IUD removal, 2. Get pregnant during that cycle of ovulation and 3. Not go full-term) in order to deliver before February.

How large was your husband when he was born? And how large were you when you were born? Those are usually better indicators of the size of baby you're likely to have. My husband is over 6 feet, but was born full-term at 6 lbs., so I didn't worry too much about having a big baby (and I didn't).

Tons of luck to you!! Once the baby bug bites, that's it!

ETA: At our company, full-time benefits INCLUDE any time you worked part-time or as a contractor. But, again, it's something you'd have to ask HR. And so long as you get the FMLA and short-term disability benefits at 1 year, then you won't need them before Feb. of next year.

 

[amc80]

How large was your husband when he was born? And how large were you when you were born? Those are usually better indicators of the size of baby you're likely to have. My husband is over 6 feet, but was born full-term at 6 lbs., so I didn't worry too much about having a big baby (and I didn't).

Ditto this. I've heard that it's more so just the mom's birth weight that is the best predictor of how big your babies will be.

 

[MustangGal]

As long as your employer has 50 employees within a 75 mile radius(the FMLA requirements), you should be OK timing-wise. But keep in mind if you get put on bed rest that would also count towards the 12 weeks of FMLA.

My mom is a little taller than you at 5'4", but she's a small frame. She birthed 5 babies the smallest of which was 8 pounds, the largest almost 11! You'll be fine

 

[shihtzulover]

Thank you all for the responses. Our company does have a policy for FMLA, but it's a little bit unclear to me still. It says that you must have worked for them for a full year and at least 1250 hours, but it doesn't say anything about full-time status. We are still a pretty small company, so I really didn't want to ask our human resources director unless I have to.

To complicate matters more, we are implementing a brand new computer system sometime between March and June of 2014, and it's going to be major. We're already in meetings to discuss how it will be built, and early next spring we will have training and then it will go live. As a manager, I will be a superuser. I'm not sure that they will be thrilled if I have to leave anytime around then.

On the other hand, I spoke with my husband about it, and he seems completely on board with trying soon. He thinks that we could start trying as early as this June, although he would still be happy if it happened right now. I guess our other option is to put it off for awhile longer, and maybe consider TTC during the winter of 2013/2014.

Since I have the Paragard IUD, I still have a regular cycle every month. I have been monitoring, and I will likely ovulate sometime within the next three days. I could feasibly run out and have it removed today, but I'm not going to do that. So you're right, I'm probably being overly paranoid.

I was three weeks early when I was born, but I was 4 lb., 11 oz. I was just naturally very small, but I wasn't premature. My husband doesn't know exactly how big he was, but his grandmother commented in the past that he was a big baby. For some reason, I'm thinking that he was about 9 lb., but I can't remember who (if anyone) said that.

It's just so hard to decide when is the best time to TTC. There probably is really no best time, because things always come up. To be honest, I might want to stay home with our baby anyway, but I'm not sure how I'll feel when the time actually comes. There are just so many different factors.