PATERNITY LEAVE - Did you get hassle from HR? 1

[dennisbbb]

Does HR have a right to declare the week you took off for Paternity leave to be a week of "vacation time"? Is there such a thing as Paternity Leave?

 

[sleipnir214]

Insufficient data for a meaningful answer. Where do you work and live?

The U.S., as I understand it, does not have a national policy on this matter. Some states do, some don't. Some companies provide it regardless of whether a law forces them to do so, some don't.



Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[MDXer]

int the US paternity leave falls under the Family Medical leave act, which is unpaid time off. Paid time off is a luxury offered by many employers not a requirement. If you want to be paid for the week off then it would be either sick leave or vacation time. If you don't care about being paid the week you were off then I would contact HR and request it be changed to unpaid time off.

Shoot Me! Shoot Me NOW!!!
- Daffy Duck

 

[chiph]

You need to ask your HR department if they comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993:

http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_825/toc.htm

Note that the law requires you to give at least 30 days notice. There's an exception if the company failed to post the required notice. Also, if your company doesn't employ 50 or more people, they may not be required to comply with the law.

But don't take my word for it, consult a lawyer if it's cost-effective for you.

Chip H.


____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first

 

[dkediger]

But essentially, the upshot of FMLA is as MDXer states: unpaid time off. The company just has to keep your position available and it can't affect your perfomrnace reviews.

Some companies may offer paid Paternity leave, but this is strictly a voluntary offerring.

 

[dennisbbb]

sleipnir214: California, USA.

It seems Paternity Leave leaves a lot of headroom for argument between HR and employee.

In my situation, on the week of paternity leave, I was paided. It was acknowledged by supervisor and HR to be Paternity leave, never stated as "vacation". Now HR just informed me I don't have any more vacation days left for the year.

Suprisingly, since I was paid, they now delare it was vacation days. Can they juggle this incident in this manner in the states of California?

Your input is appreciated.

 

[Thadeus]

Pennsylvania here...
Speaking as a manager with three people on FMLA

Many of the details are left to the company's discretion.

At my company, you must use any accrued vacation if the FMLA leave is for the birth of a child or the care of a spouse/child/parent with a serious medical condition.

If the FMLA is for the employee's own serious medical condition then they must also use any accrued sick time.

~Thadeus

 

[Stella740pl]

dennisbbb,

Paternity leave is usually covered by Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 chiph mentioned. Companies with fewer than 50 employees don't have to give the leave (as they often cannot afford it).

Under FMLA (see chiph's link), an employee who worked for a covered employer for at least 1 year can be allowed "to take job-protected, unpaid leave, or to substitute appropriate paid leave if the employee has earned or accrued it, for up to a total of 12 workweeks in any 12 months because of the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child, because of the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, because the employee is needed to care for a family member (child, spouse, or parent) with a serious health condition, or because the employee's own serious health condition makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her job".

Thus, your employer has the right to request that you take all or part of your paid leave (vacation, personal days, floating holidays, or, in some cases, sick leave) as a part of your leave before taking any unpaid leave. They probably have to notify you in advance of that, I don't remember, so check all the paperwork carefully; you might find that they did say something but you didn't notice. Also read the law (the link again) through.

I took FMLA a few years ago; I was requested - before the actual leave, not after - to take all of my unused paid sick leave first, then most of my unused vacation and other paid leave time, then go unpaid for the rest of my leave. I was able to negotiate to keep 1 week of my paid vacation time for emergencies.

 

[MDXer]

You really need to check either your employee hand book or Policy and Procedures for your company and see what it says after all these are the terms you agree to as an employee. FMLA aside if your company does not state that you get Paid paternity leave in addition to sick or vacation time then your stuck with what you got. Paying paid maternity leave can get to be rather expensive because benefits have to be offered equally to employees. So giving the mothers paid time off can be quite costly to the company.

Shoot Me! Shoot Me NOW!!!
- Daffy Duck

 

[dennisbbb]

Thank you Gentlemen for the clarifications.

Basically, Paternity Leave is just another name for "leave of absence for child birth". When paid, it's called a vacation.

 

[SantaMufasa]

Dennis, may I suggest your changing your "Thanks" to "Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen" since Stella profered such a scholarly and complete response. (There may be other ladies besides Stella that contributed, but I don't know them well enough to declare their gender.)

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[

http://www.dasages.com:

Providing low-cost remote Database Admin services]
Click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips if you use Oracle in Utah USA.

 

[Stella740pl]

Thanks, SantaMufasa and it's probably OK, since MDXer already advised Dennis about maternity leave :-D.

 

[dennisbbb]

lol.. so sorry about that..

It was a quick figure of speech and I didn't even realize the addressing was incorrect.

My apologies, Ladies.

 

[CosmoKramer]

A little late, but this article was in my local paper today:

Hartford Courant article

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes

 

[smedvid]

dennisbbb (MIS) - CA is a different beast. That state has tons of employee friendly laws and in most cases, if there is a question... companies tend to side with employees for fear of law suits. I would recommend contacting a CA based labor relations organization and see if they have an opinion. Also, attempt to work with your Company HR Group to explain where the mis-understanding took place and who is at fault. Perhaps neg. a 50% Vacation for time you were off. Was anything put in writing/email? What does the Company Employee Handbook state? htwh,

Steve Medvid
"IT Consultant & Web Master"

http://www.saveourfarm.com

Chester County, PA Residents
Please Show Your Support...

 

[dennisbbb]

The company handbook simply state family leave as stated by the California State law. In my case, during the week I was off for Paternity leave, I was paided. Now, if I still want a vacation, I will have to use non-pay leave of absence.

It is simply both upsetting and surprising to see a happy occasion met with a blank pay-check. Fortunately enough money is saved to pay for mortgage.

Employment law in America is simply not family-friendly enough, according to CosmosKramer's link article.

 

[franklin97355]

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/8258.html

 

[Diancecht]

That's a little weird.

In Spain, the father has 13 free days (initial 3 plus 10 more).

The new law says that, from the 16 weeks the mother has for maternity, the last ten can be shared between the mother and the father. Before that, the 16 weeks were just for the mother.

Cheers,
Dian