maternity leave questions

June 3, 2008 4:36 PM

I am working as a home health aide in a private home and need some information about maternity leave. Details inside.

I will be having a baby in the fall. I have worked in this for this great family since fall 2007. My paycheck comes from a company but the family of my client is considered my Supervisor. When I called the company to find out what the policy on maternity leave is they said to check with my supervisor. In the past with my supervisor I have scheduled regular sick or vacation days ahead of time, but they waited til the last minute to schedule backup. The supervisor is aware of the due date and has been for a long time now. I have verbally agreed that I would stay working for them as long as I could up to the very last minute if possible. I will return after maternity leave, but I might choose to extend it. My main concern is what if I decide a few days before birth that I am unable to work. I’m mainly worried that there will be no back up for me and might have to work. How do I go about discussing this further with the super visor? Do I need to get it all in writing? How do I find out how long of maternity leave I am entitled to here in Texas? Is there anything else I need to be concerned with? What about FMLA? Any other information that I might need to know?

posted by Snoogylips to work & money (6 comments total)

What about getting the company to discuss backup options now directly with the client? It would seem that one of the benefits of working through a company rather than for the family directly would be that it has the manpower and infrastructure set up to handle just this sort of issue.

The dates for your personal leave, of course, would need to be decided on with your client, but the whole mess of what should happen in case of an emergency (and because of rights you have as an employee), should be handled by your company.
posted by phunniemee at 4:42 PM on June 3, 2008

If you work for a nursing agency, they have to give you maternity leave. The nursing agency is your employer. Not the client.
posted by regularperson at 6:25 PM on June 3, 2008

When I called the agency they said they had no policies on maternity or an employee handbook. I was also told from the agency that they were only there to give me a paycheck and they clients parent is the supervisor. I was told to report to my supervisor for any maternity leave inquiries. I don't know where I go from here?
posted by Snoogylips at 7:06 PM on June 3, 2008

Snoogy,

Listen...HR reps are the WORST people in the world. Their job is to protect the company at the expense of the workers in most situations.

Please go here to see if you are covered(basically if your employer...which is your company has more than 50 people, and you've been receiving a paycheck from that company for the minimum period):

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

Next, navigate the website, find your location and the office servicing that location. Give them a call, and ask them "how do I take FMLA leave when my company claims they have no such policy".

Your company sucks because they probably employ this same strategy to deal with ALL issues they don't like ("We don't have a sexual harassment policy, so it doesnt apply here".)

Good luck.

ps. MeFi mail me if you need any help. I'm an HR director.
posted by hal_c_on at 7:47 PM on June 3, 2008

I was working part-time for a home care agency and full-time for a professional contracting agency during my pregnancy. I just notified them that I'd be taking leave as is allowed by FMLA after my delivery and left it at that. I consented to work up until my due date at my contract job, but I think that FMLA allows you to take off in advance.

The home care agency I worked for had the same policy yours has about your client being your supervisor. I was on good terms with my client and so we both called the nurses at the agency incessantly until they came up with a back-up plan to cover for me.

Another thing to consider is your OB's recommendations. My OB told me to stop lifting my home care client once I was in my fifth month (actually, during my fifth month I asked if I should still be lifting, and she just looked surprised and said, "No!"). You might want to get documentation from her about what types of duties you should discontinue, and what types of things you can continue to do right up until your due date.

Good luck!
posted by christinetheslp at 7:57 PM on June 3, 2008

Do you have short-term disability coverage? I'm going on maternity leave shortly, and I was told that my STD could cover BOTH any time before the baby's arrival that I was out of work for medical reasons (i.e., if my provider felt I should no stop working until the kid came), and a period of time after the birth. That's in addition to any FMLA time.

The benefit of STD coverage, should you have any, is that you may get paid. It seems to require that your doctor fill out a form. I'm in California, so YMMV.

Finally, I'd make sure you have as much in writing as possible before you go -- make sure you have an email trail that shows your supervisor knew you were pregnant, etc., just in case any problems arise.

Congratulations!
posted by stonefruit at 4:49 PM on June 4, 2008