Checklist: How to make a paid parental leave plan
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Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
For expectant parents, making a leave plan can feel like putting together a confusing puzzle that might have missing pieces.
Why it matters: Employees who don't take advantage of time-off policies could miss out on payments and benefits crucial for recovery and family bonding.
- Reminder: The U.S. provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave to full-time employees who fit certain requirements via the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but there's no federal paid parental leave law.
The fine print: If you're pregnant, you're also entitled to "reasonable accommodations," such as the ability to telework and take time off for health care appointments.
To figure out whether you qualify for paid parental leave and for how much time, here's a checklist …
1. See if your state offers paid family leave.
If yes and your employer qualifies, you should receive partial wage replacement through the state for a certain number of weeks.
- Remote employees may be able to combine their state's leave laws with their employer's, but typically the plans need to run concurrently.
- Between the lines: Paid family leave can also be referred to as parental or bonding leave if it's about new parents.
Worthy of your time: Check on your state's laws around job protection during leave.
- Note: FMLA is job-protected, meaning covered employees keep their health insurance and return to their roles after leave (except in cases of mass layoffs). It can be used at the same time as employer-provided paid leave.
2. Learn your employer's leave policy.
Instead of relying on an HR representative to explain your company's parental leave rules to you, do your own research to interpret the policy before you request leave, advises Linzay Davis, CEO and founder of The Park parental leave consulting agency.
- Keep in mind that some employers offer additional leave for the "primary" and/or birthing parent.
Pro tip: Negotiating is an option.
- "I see it every week," says Diane Gatza, CEO and founder of California Maternity Leave Consulting, of clients who secure more time or pay for parental leave than what's official.
- "It costs employers a lot of money to let somebody go and rehire for a position," so employees could make the case that a certain amount of leave would retain them, Gatza says.
3. For birthing parents: See if you qualify for disability benefits.
Several employers and states offer paid time off for pregnant and/or postpartum employees, so do your research.
- Between the lines: It can go by a few names, including short-term disability insurance or temporary disability insurance.
But if you live and work somewhere without guaranteed disability benefits for pregnancy, you could seek out a short-term disability policy (Gatza's company offers one type) before you plan to get pregnant.
Pro tip: If you use disability insurance and have postpartum challenges that go beyond the time you have coverage, you could extend your disability benefits.
- "95% of my clients get at least a four-week extension just by advocating for themselves at the doctor," says Davis.
- She says the concern must be certified by a doctor, and coverage lasts within a certain timeframe.
4. Look for other places to help ease the new-baby transition.
Sick days and holidays might help.
- If your employer offers time off for holidays that overlap with your proposed leave, ask about adding those hours to your leave time.
- And if you get PTO including sick days, consider using some time for your leave. You'll probably want to have some time saved for after your return to work for unexpected appointments and illnesses as well as just some personal time off.
If you have a partner who also gets time off from work, consider how your plans will work together.
- What you choose depends on your goals: If you want to be on leave together, you might use your plans at the same time; if you want to extend family child care for as long as possible, you could stagger your time off.
- You typically have options, as long as both plans are used within the year.
And if you're breastfeeding when you return to work, know that you're entitled to break time and a private place to pump (that's not the bathroom).
- That's thanks to the federal PUMP Act.
Carly's thought bubble: This is the last story I'm filing before taking my maternity leave, which combines Axios' and my state's paid leave policies.
- I work remotely from California, so I can access the state's bonding leave and birthing parent short-term disability leave.
Go deeper: How much leave time is optimal
