I think the mother really needs to decide how much time she wants to take and then work with her employer. For me, the daycare spot did not open up until August so that was when I wanted to return to work. Since my boss was ok with that, it was then a matter of filing the proper paperwork with the company and state. I took a portion of my leave unpaid.
Every employee and employer will be different. In the beginning of the year, my plan changed to unlimited vacation policy where I would not accrue PTO. I was paid out for the PTO I had accrued and I used this money to cover the unpaid portion of my leave. Under this plan, for my maternity leave, I was allowed 5 days at 100% pay and then 15 days at 40% pay. I decided not to take any time off before the baby actually came so that I could stretch that benefit for longer time with the baby. I started my leave on my due date February 17th and was covered to May 11th by Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and paid until April 2nd by Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL). FMLA is 12 weeks job protected, unpaid leave and PDL is 6 weeks at 55-60% pay. Then California Family Rights Act (CFRA) protected my job from April 3rd to June 24th . I didn't use the full 12 weeks of CFRA baby bonding time. From June 24th to July 31st, I was on personal leave.
Clear as mud?
Clear as mud?
