Anyone work part-time?

[allegro55]

i accepted a part-time teaching job back in April.  I am scheduled to sign my contract next week.  I plan on sharing the pregnancy with my principal at that time and discussing a plan for my absence.

I know that I will not qualify for fmla and I know that even if I am given sick days, it will not be enough to cover maternity leave.

My question is this:  do I have any sort of rights in this situation?  I feel like the school will work with me, but it would be good to know if I could legally be fired if I choose not to go back to school until May.

Anyone have experience with this?

[flockofmoosen]

I work part time, and we just had a meeting with HR about maternity leave and FMLA and all that. As far as what maternity leave is provided, that's up to your employer. The US does not require paid maternity leave, or any at all. FMLA kicks in depending on the size of your company and something else, but you can look it up for your state. If your employer qualifies, then they MUST allow you to use FMLA (usually unpaid), and they legally cannot say no or fire you for using it.

Also, you don't have to use it all at once (usually up to 12 weeks), and if your employer agrees, you can set up an intermittent work schedule where you use partial FMLA days plus work part-time. My HR person also said you can use it little bits at a time if, for example, you child has recurrent ear infections or something. This was new info to me, but good to know.

Your FMLA start date starts the day your doctor says you must stop working, whether that's because you've given birth, or because you've been put on bed rest prior. If you go out early, I don't remember if my HR person was talking about FMLA or our company's maternity leave policy, but she assured us that even if you go out before birth, you still get up to 6 weeks after the birth--like, you don't have to come back the day after you give birth just because you've been on bed rest.

[allegro55]

flockofmoosen, I had not even considered that there could be issues that cause me to stop working before the birth. FX that doesn't happen, but it's good to note the possibility.

[EatsRitz]

Unfortunately since you'll have been there less than a year when the baby's born, I think you don't have many rights to your job, since you won't qualify for FMLA. Hopefully they'll be willing to work with you though.

[flockofmoosen]

ohh, i missed that you won't be there a year yet.

[danabsd]

You will not qualify for FMLA.
Employees are eligible to take FMLA leave if they have worked for their employer for at least 12 months, and have worked for at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months, and work at a location where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.
In California, I don't know about other states, it's likely you wouldn't qualify for STD either, so it would be completely unpaid.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but i believe it is illegal for them to fire you specifically because you are pregnant. But because they do not have any obligation to protect your job so they can fill your position leaving you without one to return to.

[mrsred09]

Like others have said you won't qualify for FMLA because you won't have worked at least a year and the 1,250 hours required. However, your job may be protected under ADA if your pregnancy is labeled complicated and you end up in bed rest, but they don't have to hold your job once the baby is born and the pregnancy is over. While they can't fire you because you are pregnant, they are not legally required to hold your job while you are out and you could be held liable to attendance policies for being out of work.

[redfraggle]

Your rights are pretty limited in your situation. Look into your states laws on maternity leave. IMO, your best bet is to be a good employee and let them see how valuable you are as an employee, despite your impending absence. Most employers will work with a good employee, within reason, to retain them, even if the law does not require them to.

Unfortunately, you don't even have a guarantee that you will be offered a contract for next school year, even if you worked every day of this school year, just due to the way teacher contracts work. You also won't likely have much/any protection from the union if there is a probationary period. But if you are a good employee, you are more likely to get a good reference if you are not re-hired.

Best of luck!

[akraus2015]

I am an administrator at an elementary school, and while everything PPs have said is true, I will add one thing. If the principal sees you as an asset to the team with the potential to grow, and learn, and possibly grow into a full time teacher or even a lead or department head down the road, they will be more likely to do what they can to keep you coming back for the following year. But if they see you as someone "replaceable" (no unique skill sets, not super ambitious, etc), they'll likely just replace your position while you're out. Really good teachers can be hard to find in some areas of the country, so when people find them, they do what they can to hold onto them through temporary situations.

I hope that didn't come off too harsh. Wishing you the best of luck!

[allegro55]

Thanks, all. I suspected I would have no protection, but wanted to make sure there were no obscure laws that I am not aware of.

akraus2015, I appreciate your perspective. I have never had a problem being a good team member and I'm sure that will work in my favor. I am hoping that requesting to take 12 weeks doesn't come off as lazy to the administration.

[rivers and roads]

Same position as you. Also a teacher! I am anticipating zero pay and protection, but hoping that working my butt off up until Februrary will prove to them that I am worth keeping around.
Before we moved, I was at a charter school that had 100% mat coverage. Sad for me!

[allegro55]

rivers and roads, I'm hoping it works out for both of us!