I am back for some wonderful advice from you beautiful moms. I need help, I live in Texas going to be 5 years. I have a beautiful baby girl who is 3 years old. And hubby and I are thinking about adding baby #2 next year maybe ttc around February 14th! Can't wait so excited! Anyways I have been searching on line for the laws in Texas for Maternity Leave. You see I work for a small office here in Texas. It consists of me and my boss man. Our mother company is located in Canada and it's just me and him here in Texas. From what I know he has not had any of his past assistants go on Maternity Leave so not sure what his policies are. We pretty much try to go with the policies of the main company in Canada, but not all the time. He is not the best boss out there, has been very upset when I have to take off because of my baby girl being sick and having to take her to the doctor's. So I am not sure how he is going to act when I ask for his policies in regards to Maternity Leave. So I figured I would back myself up with the state laws before I go ask him. He is the type of boss that you cannot go to and just talk as he will get very upset quick. He suffers from ADHD or ADD not sure which one excatly. I want some advice please, where can I look for this information. Now I do have an employee handbook and I believe that they get a whole year off for maternity leave, which would be great, but I dont think that will happen in my case. I want to be off for 12 weeks since that's the age the baby has to be to be put in daycare. I am not sure if Family Leave Act will work for me? Since it's just basically a one employee office. Well he is also an employee to the Canadian Company but I work for him and the Canada Company pays me. I read something about Dissability Claim? Does anyone know what I can do or where I can see what my options are? Please advise as I want to be as prepared as possible before God sends us a beautiful healthy baby, wishing for a boy, but either or will be welcomed! Please advise on what I can do and were to look for information. Thank you so much for your help!
I need to add that when I was pregnant with my baby girl I was working through an agency here in Texas. I was working for what I believed was a temp to hire position, but as soon as my manager heard I was pregnant she called the agency and told them my assignment was over. Which I know for a fact it was not since she hired someone else to work in that position right after she let me go, I did not sue them or anything since I thought I could not do anything because I was working through the agency. Well now I have been working here for almost 4 years. This was also through an agency but I got hired on after three months and work for the company.
I need to add that my paycheck comes from my boss's company here in Texas. He has this company under a different name because of tax reasons. And so he pays me from the company's account here in Texas, but this account is used for the Canadian company to pay him for all of our expenses here in Texas. Meaning we do an expense report on there my pay goes and they reimburse us each month so that we have money to pay our stuff every month. I am starting to get worried as I do not want to get fired again for being prego. I need to work! ahhhhhh thanks to all of the advise so far.
I'm fairly certain the FMLA allows for 12 weeks, which is what I took when I had my baby. It is unpaid, however, so dont expect paid leave unless you have vacation saved up.
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In addition to finding out what the HR department says about maternity leave, I would go ahead and sign up for a short term disability policy that provides you up to a certain portion of your wages while on maternity leave. You need to do this before you get pregnant. Your company might provide STD insurance but if not you should check into it yourself if you want to receive a portion of your income while on maternity leave. I found about this benefit when I was already pregnant but was unable to sign up as my pregnancy is of course considered a pre-existing condition, automatically disqualifying me =(
Good Luck!
You will not be covered under FMLA because there have to be at least 50 employees at your workplace for that to kick in. FMLA also doesn't have to be paid leave. Basically in Texas, just like Georgia, you can be fired for any reason. The only time you have recourse is if it's a discrimination situation and you are told you're fired because you're a woman or black or disabled or whatever. The only leg I think you can stand on is to call the Canadian company's HR office in Canada and speak to them IF THEY ARE PAYING YOU. It sounds like your paychecks are issued from them, so you are their employee. If they want to be nice, they can offer you 6-12 weeks of paid leave or unpaid maternity leave or something else, but understand they don't have to. IF they say you qualify for some type of leave -paid or otherwise -where your job will be safe for you -make sure you get it in writing and that they communicate this WITH YOUR BOSS! If some HR person in Canada just says, "Sure, you can take _______amount of time off," it won't mean anything without a document to prove it.
Here is a link to some info on FMLA. I just glanced through it and it doesn't sound like you're eligible since this company has less than 50 employees. Your situation seems a little tricky because of the Canadian company's involvement. Does your company have the same name or is it a subsidiary? Does your paycheck have the Canadian company's name or the name of your company? You may need to call the parent company's HR department and ask how this would work. Or, contact a lawyer and see if you can get a free or inexpensive consultation to ask these sorts of questions. The purpose of the law is to protect employees, but honestly, the company has to be big enough to support the loss of the missing employee for the time they are out (which is why the minimum is set at 50), so with only 2 people, you can't expect him not to replace you while you're gone or he just took on a 2 person job by himself! As for disability....your company must offer short term disability for this to be an option (not all companies do). Another thing you could check into. One more thing I should mention....even if you did qualify for FMLA, it does not require that they pay you for the time you are out. They just have to keep your job available to you for that period of time so you can return. Hope this helps! Here is the link: http://www.twc.state.tx.us/news/efte/family_and_medical_l....
Your company is too small to have to give you any type of maternity leave or pay if they do not choose to.
That being said.. is there any way to find someone to take your place for 6 wks? You would not be paid, but at least they could hold your position.. Maybe a temp, maybe place an ad and see if there is anyone out there, willing to work for that time. maybe then when you cannot be at work they could pop in on an on call basis in the future also.. ?
My mom is retired and she did this here in town for an office and it worked out well.
Speak with the boss and find out his feelings..
To be covered under FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act):
Must work for a covered employer (all public agencies; private companies with 50 or more employees within 75 miles.)
Must have worked for covered employer for at least 12 months prior, and at least 1250 hours in previous 12 months. Other restrictions apply.
Based on FMLA you don't fall under it so I don't believe you really have any job protection once you start your leave. Under FMLA you get 12 weeks unpaid and return to your job or a similar position.
Updated
To be covered under FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act):
Must work for a covered employer (all public agencies; private companies with 50 or more employees within 75 miles.)
Must have worked for covered employer for at least 12 months prior, and at least 1250 hours in previous 12 months. Other restrictions apply.
Based on FMLA you don't fall under it so I don't believe you really have any job protection once you start your leave. Under FMLA you get 12 weeks unpaid and return to your job or a similar position.
Contact HR at the Canadian company before you even talk to your boss.
Get you some FMLA girl, as long as you have worked 1 year, and clocked i think 1200 hours or something like that, you can get it, the Dr, will fill out all your paper work, and it is a state law, you can google it to find out more info. It was great when i had it, gave me job security to know i could leave work after i returned from my leave, with out the fear of being let go. Good luck
I think the first thing you should actually do is clarify who you work for. Just because you are in a small office with a manager/boss does not mean you do not work for the larger company. They issue your paycheck so I would think you are employed by them. A call to the HR department would help clear this up. You do not need to let them know you are looking into FMLA, just to clarify who the employer is or connection to the main company. How does your W-2 read for taxes? Then you can take the next steps. If you are employed by the larger company, then the employee handbook should be followed all the time, not whenever your manager wants it to fit.
Since you are paid from the Canadian company I would think you work for them as well, it sounds like you are in a US branch of the company. The tricky part is does he have to follow the home companies policies since it is out of the US? I don't believe there is a state requirement for maternity leave. Every company has different maternity leave policies. All I know is they can't fire you and have to have a position available upon your return - not necessarily the position you left when you went on maternity leave. That is the loop hole - many employers will have a job available knowing the person would not want it therefore the employee quits and the employer doesn't have to deal with everything that comes with a new mother. I do know they don't have to pay while you are gone and can set their own time frame for the leave. I knew a woman that didn't get any maternity leave b/c she hadn't been there long enough (shouldn't be a problem in your case). Some companies only allow 4-6 weeks off for maternity leave. You could call the home office and ask what the policy would be for you, however that info would most likely make it back to your boss.
FMLA applies to companies with 50 or more employees.
You are in a tough spot b/c it is just you and your boss. As you have every right to have maternity leave it is also a huge burden for a company that is only 2 people.
But in reality, whatever the policy is, it isn't going to keep you from getting pregnant, right? So, until you are actually pregnant, I wouldn't rock the boat until you need too. If you bring this up that you are planning on getting pregnant but you aren't pregnant and with Texas being a 'right to fire' state, your boss could find a way to get rid of you before you are pregnant.
Good luck!
The Family Leave Act is all you need to reference. Also Texas is an at will state so you can be fired for pretty much anything but check out unlawful termination and make sure that doesnt happen to you.
In Canada you do get a year leave of absence but you fall under Texas law. FMLA does not apply to you because it covers you only if you work for a company with 50 or more employees. Maybe before telling your boss that you are pregnant, you can come up with a solution to cover your position while you are off on leave. Like maybe do some research on getting a temp worker while you are off on leave. Hopefully that will soften the blow to your boss when delivering him the news.
FMLA, which would allow 12 weeks is a federal law that would apply to you if you had been an employee for 12 months and if the Canadian company employs 50 people within a 75 mile radius of your office. The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act would also apply to a Canadian company if they have more than 15 American citizens employed. The PDA does not give the same amount of time as FMLA would, rather it ensures that pregnancy is not treated any differently than any other disability. So if individuals who are disabled are given time off work, then your pregnancy would need to be handled the same way. Sometimes state discrimination laws are more favorable than the federal law but in the case of Texas, it is the same terms as the federal law. I hope everything works out for you!
