UO
Jan 30, 2015 10:16:24 GMT -5
Post by sarasansh on Jan 30, 2015 10:16:24 GMT -5
This. I also think maternity leave should not fall under the same category as other medical leaves. If I got my knees replaced then yes, I need to be on medical leave and I'm the only one that matters. With maternity leave, you're going from one person to two people to consider, and I think when coming up with a leave policy more things should be taken into consideration than just how long it will take the mother to physically heal from the birth.
But I think the problem with setting up benefits for maternity leave separate from other leaves of absence is that those that can't or won't have a child are excluded. I think setting up one policy allowing an employee to take a leave of absence for various medical/family reasons is actually a very good and fair system. I just think it should be extended to those working for businesses of fewer than 50 employees as well.
That's a good point--it does exclude. For my school our current policy is formed directly because of the physical healing. They go by 8 weeks so that way they're covered whether it's a vaginal delivery or a c-section. The actual description from our faculty handbook is:
"Maternity leave is given when ordered by the faculty member's treating physician, due to the
mother's medical condition preceding and/or following the birth of her child."
We're also not allowed to use our sick days or personal days to extend our leave.