Taking Drugs While Pregnant

Maternity leave is the time you take off of work to heal from your labor and delivery, and the time you take to care for your newborn, whether you are the natural mother or whether you adopted a baby. There are two types of maternity leave:

• A maternal disability, or medical leave, is the time that a woman takes off for a vaginal delivery (usually six weeks) or cesarean section (usually eight weeks).
• Family leave is the time spent caring for the baby and is available to the father and adoptive parents. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) grants everyone equal time of 12 weeks.

Are You Qualified for Maternity Leave?

You may think that after you give birth your company is required to provide you with paid maternity leave for several weeks while you stay at home and adjust to life with your new baby. Unfortunately, a good amount of companies do not offer paid maternity leave, and they are not required to.

Many women also do not qualify for paid maternity leave - depending on the length of employment and the size of their company. In order to qualify for FMLA leave, you must work for the federal or state governement or have been at your current job for at least 12 months and 1,250 hours (about 25 hours a week for 50 weeks). You also must have been employed by a company with a minimum of 50 employees within a 75 mile radius. If this criteria is met, your employer must offer you the twelve weeks unpaid, continue your health insurance, and provide you with the same position (or a position of an equivalent level) when you return.

What if my Company Does Not Offer Maternity Leave?
Most likely, you’ll be able to use a combination of short-term disability, sick time accumulated, vacation time accumulated, personal days, and unpaid family leave during your maternity leave.

If your company does not offer paid or unpaid maternity or family leave, you may have a couple of other options available. According to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, if your company has more than 14 employees and held an employee’s job during a different type of medical disability, they must offer you the same position after your leave.

If you live in New York, New Jersey, California, Rhode Island, or Hawaii, you may be eligible for their state-run temporary disability plans. This will cover you during the time you are medically not able to work.

When Should I Begin Researching my Maternity Leave Choices?Experts suggest beginning a dialogue with your employer shortly after the first trimester. You don’t want to wait until you are visibly pregnant, but many complications can arise during the first trimester and the miscarriage rate is highest during that time. Federal guidelines require that you give a minimum of 30 days between requesting leave and taking it, but you’ll want to give your employer more time. When you have the conversation, try to make it positive and discuss your plans for returning after the birth (if you plan to return to work). You can try to negotiate maternity leave and work out a plan that works for the both of you.

How do I Find out More About My State’s Laws?Many states offer additional benefits to the federal FMLA laws. To find out more you can contact your state’s Labor Office.

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Pregnancy discrimination can occur in multiple forms and can happen in a variety of instances of employment. Many women have suffered through pregnancy discrimination while being hired or promoted - or their employer terminates them, takes away their benefits, or changes their maternity leave. Some women who experience pregnancy discrimination feel that their bosses are in the right, but that’s not always true.

What is Pregnancy Discrimination?
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 was passed as an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It states that "women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment­related purposes, including receipt of benefits under fringe benefit programs, as other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work." It also states that an employer is not required to cover health insurance for an abortion, but that’s a different story.
(Please note that this law is in effect only for employers with 15 or more employers.)

What are Some Pregnancy Discrimination Scenarios?
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act can be difficult to understand so let’s examine a couple of different scenarios.

• If you are pregnant and going on interviews for a job, the employer cannot refuse to hire you if you can perform the major functions and requirements of the job. They may not refuse to hire you because of prejudices against pregnant workers. (In fact a potential employer cannot ask you if you are pregnant or planning to have children. If you are still in your first trimester of pregnancy and not showing, you may choose to keep the pregnancy quiet.)
• Your employer must allow you to work as long as you are able to perform your job. If you are temporarily unable to do your required tasks, your boss must treat you as any other disabled employee.
• If you have a pregnancy related disability, your employer must give you the same accrual
  and crediting of seniority, vacation calculation, pay increases
  and temporary disability benefits, as if you were a temporary disabled employee.

The Family and Medical Leave Act, another law, can give you additional protection. If your health care provider says that you are unable to work during your pregnancy, you may be eligible to receive up to 12 weeks off of work without pay. Under this law you must also be allowed to take time off for childbirth, as well as adoption of a child or care of a sick child/family member.

What do You do if You Experience Pregnancy Discrimination?
If you find that you are suffering from pregnancy discrimination, it’s best to follow these steps.

• Document anything that occurs, noting the date, time and place of occurance.

• If you are employed through a union, speak to a union representative.
• Check any employee handbook you were given when you were hired for procedures. If you have none, speak to your employer or human resources department to find out how to file a complaint.
• Continue to work at the level of your job discription and keep detailed notes of your completed tasks, hours, and job evaulations.
• File a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

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