maternity leave

[flower424]

I got a chance to take carrier opt that is too good to pass on, but risky and involves relocation to CT. My wife checks with her employer and finds an open position close by in CT which requires little travel. We decide to go with it.

While this was in works and not yet final, we found out we were pregnant. We are now risking a stable salary since she can't meet the travel requirement.

Since my position allows me to travel for sometime, we now want to do the following:

My wife will work till 32wks, then use vacation till she qualifies for state maternity then use the state maternity for 12 wks after the baby is born. She will travel to CT and deliver there. Three months after we will decide on one of the two.

1. If my job doesn't work out and we don't like it in CT, we will come back.

2. We end-up staying and my wife does not return to work.

If we choose either of the above options, is there any issue with state benefits that we claimed? Do we still qualify for the state benefits?

[ecmst12]

1. Why would she need to take off EIGHT WEEKS prior to delivery? Unless she's high risk, there's no need for this.

2. She has eight weeks vacation available from her current job? If so, there's no real reason that she can't quit and be paid the balance in her vacation bank (as CA law requires) whenever.

I don't know anything about the state maternity benefits in CA, I wasn't aware that they offered any kind of paid maternity leave, only an expansion of the federal FMLA rights.

[ecmst12]

OK I was curious and did some googling.

The earliest she can apply for state disability benefits is FOUR weeks prior to delivery, unless she has complications and is certified as unable to work before then. And the first week she is out will be the unpaid waiting period. So provided she delivers on time, she can be paid for 3 weeks prior to delivery.

The amount she will get will NOT be her full salary but will be around 60%.

AFTER delivery, she can get disability benefits for another 6 weeks for normal birth, 8 weeks for c-section, possibly more if there are complications and she needs more time to recover. If recovery is normal, then after the 6 or 8 weeks, she can get ANOTHER 6 weeks paid "bonding time". Again, all this is at around 60% of her normal wages. And that's all there is.

What the CAEDD site does NOT address is whether she has to remain in CA in order to remain eligible. You should call and ask about that specifically. It also seems to imply that employers have a good deal of freedom in determining how PTO/vacation/sick time mixes with the disability pay. She should ask her employer about that.

What DOES seem to be the case is that if she quits her job at 32 weeks for the vacation payout, she will NOT then 4 weeks later be able to apply for disability, because she must be actively working or looking for work at the time she becomes disabled. So she will need to keep working until at LEAST 36 weeks. And her job is only protected for 12 weeks, even though she may be able to get more time paid by the state. So if she does NOT want to quit, and she goes out at 36 weeks, she will only have 8 weeks after delivery before she can legally be terminated. This is not to say she WILL be terminated, but if she is, it will be legal. It depends on how understanding her employer is, and how patient, and how well they can continue without her.

It may be wisest for you to start the job in CT well ahead of time and find out if you like it and want to stay long before her due date. Being separated is not, I'm sure, ideal for either of you, but your proposed plan seems a lot more stressful at a time when both of you are going to be stressed enough! If you go out there NOW and hate it, then she'll never have to move, and the problem is avoided. If you go now (or soon) and love it, then she can plan for a permanent move a lot easier then a "maybe" temporary move.