To: Tori (Family and Medical Leave Act -- FMLA)

Posted by Teacher on June 27, 2003 at 16:21:13:

Many employers are required by federal law to allow their employees (both men and women) 12 weeks of unpaid family leave after the birth or adoption of a child under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). At the end of your leave, your employer must allow you to return to your job or a similar job with the same salary, benefits, working conditions, and seniority. You are among the 55 percent of U.S. workers who are eligible if you meet both of the following conditions:

• You work for the federal government, a state or local government, or any company that has 50 or more employees working within 75 miles of your workplace

• You have worked for your employer for at least 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours during the previous year (which comes out to 25 hours per week for 50 weeks)

There are a few exceptions: Your employer can deny you this leave if you're in the highest paid 10 percent of wage earners at your company and your employer can show that your absence would cause substantial economic harm to the organization. In this case, your employer isn't required to keep your job open for you. Another exception is if you and your partner both work for the same company. In this case, you're only entitled to a combined 12 weeks of leave between the two of you. Even if you're not eligible under the FMLA, you may still be eligible for leave under your state's provisions, which are usually more generous than the FMLA, or under your company's policy.

All the paid leave you've taken (STD, vacation, sick leave) counts toward the 12 weeks allowed under FMLA. But some states allow you to take the full 12 weeks in addition to whatever paid leave you've taken and, of course, individual employers may also allow this. You can use your unpaid leave in any way you want during your pregnancy or during the first year after your child is born. That means you can take it all at once (right after the birth or placement of your child) or spread it out over your child's first year by taking it in chunks or reducing your normal weekly or daily work schedule.

Hope this helps! For more information I'm putting a link below that helps to answer a lot of questions:

• Maternity Leave

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