Full Transcription: Maternity Leave 411: Know Your Rights and Maximize Your Time
Welcome to the We Got You Mama Summit! Thank you so much for joining us. I’m chatting with Ako Ayer, the founder of Maternity Leave 411, a platform born out of her personal challenge.
Ako Ayer: Thank you for having me. I love talking about all things leave. I’m the mother of two amazing daughters, who are seven and nine.
My work started as a passion project. When I went on maternity leave in 2014, my employer at the time shortchanged my leave by about eight weeks. It wasn’t malicious; the HR representative just didn’t understand the leave laws in play—specifically, federal FMLA and how my California state leave rights interacted with it.
I had to seek legal guidance, and after a lot of back and forth, they finally realized their mistake and gave me the leave I was entitled to. Through that journey, I realized two things:
- I wasn’t the only person who had been misguided by HR.
- It was incredibly difficult to find easy-to-read, layman’s-term information on leave rights.
I started a blog recapping my rights, which gained traction. From there, I started a Facebook group to help parents, and by 2017, I formally started Maternity Leave 411. I received a certification as a Leave Management Specialist and other credentials specific to leave management.
I love what I do—giving parents the gift of time to spend with their babies. You can’t really unapologetically take an extended time away from work in our business culture, and what better time to take time off than when welcoming a new baby? It’s important for parents to be in control of that time, knowing what you are entitled to under the law to maximize that time off and return to work when you are ready, not when your employer tells you to.
Pregnancy Rights and Accommodations
It’s best to get this information while you are pregnant, rather than trying to get more time in the midst of the postpartum period. It’s also wise to maximize the time available to you, as you don’t know how you’ll feel when the baby arrives.
There are several rights and protections when you are pregnant:
- Anti-Discrimination: Your employer can’t fire you or treat you worse simply because you’re pregnant.
- Accommodation Rights: At the federal level, there is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. You might need to make changes to your job to continue working safely and maintain your health. These changes are called accommodations.
- Examples of Accommodations: Changing your work schedule due to morning sickness, taking more frequent bathroom breaks, or requesting to work from home due to a long commute. Any pregnancy-related condition that makes it difficult for you to do your job can be grounds for requesting an accommodation.
- Leave of Absence: You can start a leave of absence under federal FMLA or state pregnancy disability leave laws.
Crucial Tip: Before starting a leave of absence during your pregnancy, explore your reasonable accommodation rights first.
- Benefit of Accommodations: Going the accommodation route doesn’t force you into starting your leave too early, which would cut into your post-birth leave time. Federal FMLA only provides 12 weeks of leave, so you want to use it when you need it most.
- Continued Pay: If you continue working with accommodations, you continue to make wages. Once you go on leave, you stop getting paid unless you have a paid policy in place.
Getting Paid During Leave
Unfortunately, at this moment, there is no federal paid leave program. While most leave laws protect your job, they do not provide pay, and there is no legal obligation for an employer to pay someone while they’re taking time off.
You must do your own research to figure out how you will be paid. There are several options:
- State Statutory Paid Medical and Family Leave: Your state might have a paid program you are eligible for (e.g., California Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave).
- Private Short-Term Disability Policy: This might be a policy you individually enrolled in, or one your employer provides as a benefit.
- Employer-Paid Leave Policy: Your employer might offer paid leave policies to pregnant employees (often called parental leave).
- Accrued Time: You can use accrued time such as PTO (Paid Time Off), sick time, or vacation time.
You’ll need to fit the pieces of this puzzle together based on your state and employer benefits.
Best Research Practice: Google your state and “labor law.” Typically, your state’s governance website will come up and provide details on any paid leave programs, as well as laws regarding how you can take leave.
Job Protection: FMLA and State Laws
The other major component to navigate is how your job will be protected while you’re out on leave.
- Federal FMLA: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides 12 weeks of job-protective leave for a variety of reasons, including pregnancy, childbirth recovery, and baby bonding.
- FMLA Eligibility Requirements: Not everyone is eligible for FMLA. To be eligible, you must:
- Work for an employer with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius.
- Have worked for your employer for at least 12 months.
- Have worked at least 1,250 hours within the past year.
- State Leave Laws: Statistically, only about 55% of employees are eligible for FMLA. However, FMLA is not the only leave law. State-specific leave laws are often more expansive and generous than FMLA, and the eligibility requirements might be looser.
Action Item: If you’re not eligible for FMLA, definitely check your state’s labor law website to see if you can access state-specific leave laws for job protection.
Advocating for Your Rights with Your Employer
It can be uncomfortable to come to your employer to discuss your lawful entitlements, but you must be prepared and empowered.
- Do Your Own Research: Do not rely on your employer to tell you what your leave entitlements are. HR reps often only mention the 12 weeks of FMLA and forget to mention state laws or reasonable accommodation rights, which essentially shortens the leave you might be entitled to.
- Tell, Don’t Ask: Instead of asking, “What am I eligible for?” do your research and then tell your employer what you know you’re entitled to. This empowers you and leads to more accurate and productive conversations.
- Request Leave in Writing: When formally requesting leave, do it in writing.
- Use Legally Protected Terms: The term “maternity leave” is colloquial and not a protected leave of absence. When requesting leave in writing, use the actual terms: “pregnancy disability leave” or “baby bonding leave.” These are terms that are legally protected leaves of absence.
Pumping Rights and Extended Disability
Pumping at Work
At the federal level, an employer has to provide adequate break time for employees to pump as frequently as needed.
- Location: The pumping location cannot be a bathroom. It must be a place shielded from public view and intrusion from coworkers.
- Pay: The law does not require pump time to be paid. However, if you are working while pumping, that time must be paid. If your employer has a paid break policy, and you pump during that break, you must be paid pursuant to that policy.
- State Laws: Check your state’s pumping rights, as they might be more expansive or generous.
Extended Disability (Bed Rest or Complications)
If you experience long-term complications during or after pregnancy, you can’t predict how long you might be disabled.
- Job Protection:
- FMLA and State Disability: You can use up to 12 weeks of federal FMLA and/or any longer duration provided by your state’s pregnancy disability leave law.
- Leave Extension: If you exhaust all types of leave, you can request a disability leave extension under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. An accommodation can be getting extra leave time for your pregnancy disability and post-birth recovery.
- Pay: These leave laws are job-protective but unpaid. You will need to file a state disability claim (if your state has one) or seek an extension/benefits from a private short-term disability policy for the duration you’re disabled.
- Advocate with Your Doctor: Be explicit with your doctor. Tell them you are not well and that you are seeking a disability extension on your period of disability. Many doctors are realizing that the standard recovery period (six weeks post-vaginal birth or eight weeks post C-section) is often not enough time, and they may be more open to extending the post-birth disability period if you advocate for yourself.
It sounds like there are many avenues and answers out there; it’s just about navigating and finding them. If this overwhelms you, that’s why people like Ako are available to help you navigate this space.
Connect with Ako Ayer
Ako is passionate about educating parents to maximize their time off, which is a sacred and precious period. Consider putting coaching services like this on your registry to set your village up for success.
- Website: www.maternityleave411.com (Look for the contact button)
- Instagram: @maternityleave411 (Offers tips and tricks on how to maximize your leave)
Ako is available to help demystify the process of navigating and maximizing your leave.