Maternity Leave
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I had read somewhere that perhaps in Massachusetts if a woman delivers twins that she would be eligible for 16 weeks leave instead of 8. Is this something that has become legal in MA yet? Or, is it just a suggestion?
Please advise.
Sincerely,
Patti
Please advise.
Sincerely,
Patti
Comments
Leave Act, Mass. Gen. L. c. 149 s. 105D, which provides that female
employees who have completed their introductory period of employment or have
been employed for at least three consecutive months as a full time employee
are entitled to eight weeks of unpaid leave to give birth, adopt a child
under the age of 18 or adopt a child under the age of 23, if that child is
physically or mentally disabled. To be eligible for this leave, the
employee must give the Company at least two weeks' notice of her anticipated
date of departure and her intention to return to work at the ned of her
leave. The leave is available at the time of the birth or adoption but not
substantially before or substantially later. Assuming business conditions
have not eliminated the employee's position or restructured her job in her
absence, upon return to work, the employee is entitled to be restored to her
previous or similar position.
The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination issued Guidelines last
spring that offered interpretations of this statute, and among those
interpretations was one in which the MCAD determined that the employee was
entitled to 8 weeks leave "per birth" so that, if an employee was pregnant
with twins, there would be two "births" involved, entitling the employee to
16 weeks of unpaid leave. If you are an employer with a facility in
Massachusetts, I have a copy of these guidelines and could answer further
questions for you. Give me a call at (413) 737-4753 or email me at
[email]sfentin@skoler-abbott.com[/email].
Good Luck.
One suggestion. I don't use the term "maternity leave" any longer. I just call it short term disability.
Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related
medical conditions constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under
Title VII. Women affected by pregnancy or related conditions
must be treated in the same manner as other applicants or
employees with similar abilities or limitations.
Basically, as you and other posters have stated, the Act requires employers to treat "maternity" or pregnancy as they would any other sickness or disability. This means if the employer allows a male employee time off due to a back injury or hernia, he must allow time off to women due to their pregnancy. Employers also may not deny payment under a disability or sickness benefit plan based solely upon a woman's pregnancy, if benefits are paid to male employees due to their illnesse and injuries. The EEOC states "If an employer provides any benefits to workers on leave, the employer must provide the same benefits for those on leave for pregnancy related conditions."
The employer in this orginal post may remove the words from his handbook, but so long as he employs fifteen (15) or more employees, it is meaningless, since he is still subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the Preganancy Discrmination Act amendments.
When the EEOC comes to investigate a complaint, they will be as concerned about your undocumented "practices" as they will be your nice offical written policies. This is what trips most employers up. We spend hours, days and weeks developing official policies, and then management proceeds to act on their own without reference or regard to the policy.
I have worked for multi-state employers who did, and others who did not have a separate policy statement on Maternity or Pregnancy Leave. My personal preference is to keep the number of poilicy and procedures statements you issue to the minimum needed to do the job. I worked for one employer who's HR policies filled three (3) three inch binders, and they were part of a sixteen (yes 16) binder set of all company policies and procedures. The problem we had was knowing which policy and procedure to follow when.
I recommend that unless a law or regulation requires you to have a separate policy statement, incorporate all of your reasons for leave into one master statement on Leave of Absence, or Attendance. You also want that to be a brief and clear as possible, and yet allow you to get the job done. Oh, and by the way, don't loose sight of what "the job" is along the way-Managing Employee Attendance.