Staying home with your baby for as long as possible while still getting paid and without risking losing your job while doing so is top of mind for all new working Moms. I know it was one of my top priorities while I was planning to leave work to welcome my new daughter into this amazing world.

There weren’t many people at work in my “circle” that had already had a baby so I had to do a ton of research to see what I was entitled to receive. I talked to our HR department at length about what the state allowed on top of what the company allowed (luckily the person who answered the phone when I called was extremely helpful and offered me a ton of amazing advice). I soon realized I had a few things working in my favor, namely that my manager was amazingly receptive to my desire to maximize my time out; I had racked up quite a bit of vacation being at my company for 5 years; and my company had over 50 employees. I’ll expand on why these were huge benefits one-by-one. The process seems daunting however with a little preperation you should have smooth sailing. First I’ll explain how you might want to go about planning for your time off and then I’ll list out exactly how I was able to secure an 8 month leave of absence.

It’s funny, I was able to take advantage of all the options available and now folks at work who are preparing for leave are setting up times to chat with me about how they can get the same “package”.

WORKING WITH THE CORPORATE HR DEPARTMENT
- Start discussion 2-3 months before heading out for leave
So, as I set out to learn about what I was entitled to I first called the company HR department. It was about 2-3 months before I was to go out on my maternity leave that I started this discussion. I think it’s a good idea to start early so that you don’t find yourself so time strapped that you can’t explore all of your options.

Ask a million questions. I sure did, starting with what the company-alloted time for leave was. I found out that my company, as with most large companies, give new Mom’s about 4 weeks off prior to delivery to “nest” and another 6-8 weeks off post delivery for bonding (6 weeks for vaginal birth and 8 weeks for cesarean). I was told that I couldn’t take the 4 weeks prior to delivery and apply then to the 6-8 weeks given after, however some managers will likely work with you to make this option possible. Next, ask how you go about scheduling the time you want off. I was having an induced delivery so I knew the exact date that I would be heading out, however with most due dates you can likely estimate what your last day in the office will be. If your company is small this is all likely handeled in house, however with most large companies there is a third party company who handles all “long term disability”. Maternity leave is considered long term disability. Ask your HR rep. for all the phone numbers that you will need while setting up your leave and for contact numbers while you’re out. In addition, find out all the deadline you CAN’T afford to miss, for example, there is a window when you need to inform your employer of the exact date your child was born, also, for insurance purposes you need to let them know you’re adding a child to your policy. In my case I had 60 days to inform them of my daughter’s birth and to add her as a dependant otherwise all procedures would then retroactively be billed to me out-of-pocket. Another key deadline to be aware of is making sure your corporate insurance coverage doesn’t lapse while you’re on leave, and if so you might need to return to work for 1 day to start the clock over again. In my case I had to return to work for 1 day after being gone for 60 days, after that I was again covered. I worked with my manager on this. I recommend having a calendar handy when you’re chatting with your leave of absence coordinator to be sure you record all these super important deadlines.

If you’re interested in using your vacation time to extend your time out, ask your HR dept. how much time you’ve accumulated so you can plan accordingly.

At this time you might want to also have your husband look into the peternity leave package his employer offers and get that time off scheduled and approved.

WORKING WITH YOUR MANAGER
- Start this discussion as soon as your feel like you know what your “dream plan” is

Starting this discussion after you know what your “dream plan” is will help you keep focused and will help keep you from straying from what you really want to do. My manager was so open minded that she acutally helped me find a way to extend my leave beyond what I was originally planning. As I mentioned above, I tacked on my vacation time to extend my leave. My manager knew that I was a couple hours away from maxing out my vacation time so she suggested that after the corporate maternity leave was gone I use my vacation time so that I could continue accruing hours vs. losing them. Smart! Many managers want to make sure you come back after leave so they are willing to work with you to make your leave as enjoyable as possible. Don’t be afraid to ask…the worse thing that could happen is that they say no and you’re no worse off than if you hadn’t asked at all.

FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA) AND PAID FAMILY LEAVE (PFL)
- For Companies In California With Over 50 Employees

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) - IT’S THE LAW. The legal speak is enough to make you dizzy, however the Cliff Notes’ version is: your employer has the right to a 30-day advance notice of your intention to use FMLA, your benefits continue at the same level that they were prior to your leave, eligable employees are etitled to 12 work weeks of time off before your baby turns 1, this time off is unpaid and your job is protected while out. Generally speaking, if you work for a company that employs 50 or more people, you are eligable and the 12 weeks allowed doesn’t need to be used consecutively…it can be started and stopped at any time.
Most likely, you will need your OB/GYN to fax in a compled FMLA document (provided to your from your company or your leave of absence coordinator) stating that you had a child on such and such date to prove that you are eligable.

If you live in California, you’re entitled to Paid Family Leave (PFL). Again there are a lot of details but in a nut shell, you’re entitled to 6 weeks of partial pay to bond with/care for your new baby (approximately 55% of your pre-taxed weekly wage, up to a maximum of $840 - what you earned during the 5-17 months prior to when PFL starts will be the wage this calculation is based on). This 6 weeks can’t be tacked on to the 12 weeks of FMLA, however instead of not being paid for the 12 week period you can be partially paid for 6 of them. This helps out tremendously if your working within a household budget. Just as with FMLA, the PFL portion doesn’t need to be take consecutively, you can start and stop it at any time, it just must be used before your baby is 1 year old.

In some cases, your husband is eligable for FMLA/PFL, be sure to look into that if you’re interested.

HOW I RECEIVED 8 MONTHS OF JOB PROTECTED (PARTIALLY PAID) LEAVE
- The plan…I took the following:

• 4 weeks prior to the birth of my dauther
• 6 weeks after she was born
• I returned to work for 1 day to ensure my benefits continue (going off leave for 1 day)
• I made sure that if there was a company paid holiday (Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Christmas, New Years…to name a few) that I stoped my leave and used the company time off.
• 6 weeks of paid vacation (again, stopping my vacation if there was a paid holiday that feel within that window)
• 6 weeks of FMLA
• 6 weeks of PFL
• I used any floating/personal days off that the company allows

As with anything, everyone’s experience is different, however this is the plan I used to get as much bonding time with my new daughter as legally allowed. To the best of my knowledge, the laws are still the same, however please read all links and talk to your HR depatment to ensure your “dream plan” can be achieved.

I’d love to hear your “leave preperation” experience.

Happy planning,
:) kim

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