Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

I know some of y'all here aren't in the US, but considering how often we talk about this Act, you probably know at least a little about it already. :) But just in case... and trust me, there's a reason why I explain all this.

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, otherwise known as FMLA, entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. That's to say: If you qualify, you won't get paid, but at least you keep your health insurance!

FMLA entitles you to:

• Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:
  
  
  
  • the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;
  
  
  • the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;
  
  
  • to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
  
  
  • a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job;
  
  
  • any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty;”

• Twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave)

The part in bold is what would matter when I give birth. This actually applies to DH as well, which is nice because, if I remember correctly, he only gets two weeks' paid leave from his job in the event of childbirth.

Each employer can arrange FMLA however they want, within reason. In my employer's case, their policy states that they will grant up to 12 weeks of leave (for this circumstance, at least) in each 12-month period to eligible employees (you have to be working here the equivalent of full-time for at least a year), and that leave may be paid, unpaid, or a combination thereof. Starting the first day of leave, the employee must take all time-off accruals (e.g., vacation, personal time, and sick time) as of the first day of leave as part of the FMLA requirement.

So yes, in some way, FMLA provided by work is partially paid as a result of using paid time-off, running concurrently with FMLA, which is pretty cool. I'm planning to take the entire three months when we do eventually have a baby, though I'm completely open to working a bit from home when necessary.

ANYWAY. That reason I was talking about earlier! Awesome attorney-boss and I occasionally talk about kids, with the focus usually on his 2 1/2-year-old son (who I met and is adorable!). We were talking yesterday about looking forward to having kids and whatever, and he said, "Definitely! But I can't have you out for three months, that's just not gonna work."

Obviously, he was kidding, and I jokingly said, "Oh yeah, we're gonna have to talk about that one." And since he's a lawyer, he's well aware of the implications of not complying with federal law. ;)

Still, though, I've already been feeling a bit guilty about having that much time to stay at home and play with/care for the new baby, and that amplified it just a bit. Not like awesome attorney-boss would have known. I've already considered, though, doing some work from home after the first, say, six weeks of leave and as necessary, but this is obviously a topic we'll have to talk about when the time is right!

It also made me feel... I don't know, pretty special in a way. Like the things I do here are important and do matter. I know, logically, that's the case... but I'm the kind of person who downplays everything she does, even if it's a great help to the people around her. I'm not even sure why. So when he said that, and knowing full well that he does appreciate what I do and that I am a big help, I couldn't help but be like... "Aw. I matter around here!"

That comment itself was pretty funny, though. ;)