Just got hired at a new job and also found out I’m pregnant with baby #2

J

jfortizzle

New member
I have so many questions running through my mind right now. How will this look in terms of requesting time off? I won’t qualify for FMLA since I’ll be at this new job for under a year.

What if I have morning sickness? How will I request sick days or handle days in the office? When will it be the right time to tell my employer? I go in on Monday to fill out paperwork and idk if I should bring it up right now or not. Ughhh I’m so stressed right now.
 
@jfortizzle I had this happen myself. I got hired for a new job and found out I was pregnant in the same week. I did not tell my manager until after the anatomy scan. That left plenty of time for notice. I had 8 weeks off for STD for a C-section (non C-section is 6 weeks) and then my company let me use 2 weeks of PTO and 2 weeks of company paid parental leave for a consecutive total of 12 weeks of leave, even though I was not covered under FMLA. Hopefully you can work something out with them like this. Also to note, you can take your 12 weeks of FMLA ANYTIME in the 12 months after the birth of your child. That means that if your year of working at the company comes up when said kid is around 9 months old, you are then officially eligible for your 12 weeks of unpaid leave while being job protected. Just good information to have that many don’t know about (including myself until I spoke with the department of labor clarifying how FMLA works under this type of circumstance you are in and I was in)
 
@jaxxangel So I can still qualify for STD even if I’ve only been there under a year? Oh that makes me feel so much better. I at least want 6 weeks off. I go in tomorrow to sign paperwork and set a start date. I’ll have to look closely into their benefits and parental leave policy. Thanks for the advice! It was very much appreciated and very helpful!
 
@jfortizzle So the FMLA unpaid job protection for 12 weeks is the federal law that mandated job protection for that length of time after working for a year.

Short term disability, long term disability, etc are mandated by what your company has worked out with your disability insurance provider (Sedgwick for example). Different employers have different contracts for when insurance kicks in for employees, some kick in immediately and some kick in after 3 months etc. It would be a weird length of time for an employer to only offer disability coverage after a year because it can be used for many other things other than just pregnancy leave. It depends on your company on when your insurance would kick in, but that would be a shitty policy if it was a year and I don’t think very common. I work for a healthcare insurance provider but only on the clinical review side so I’m NOT an insurance underwriter or policy person and this is my understanding of it all.

Edit: most short term disability terms are either 6 weeks for a vaginal birth or 8 weeks for a c-section. There is a range of how much of your salary they cover. Sometimes if they don’t have a full 100% coverage you have the opportunity to pay extra to get extra coverage when you sign up at the start of coverage initially(so let’s say your company short term disability covers 50% salary during your 6 or 8 weeks, but you can pay extra to get 80 or 100% of your salary). You can also make those elections at the start of each policy year, or with any life changing event such as birth/marriage etc.
 
@jfortizzle I started a job at 9 weeks pregnant. It was great! I told my boss right away to explain random trips to the bathroom. I didn’t mind sharing the news, and he was very understanding. I never felt like it affected my work that much. I still got good performance reviews. And luckily my company had a three month mat leave policy for all employees so it didn’t matter that I didn’t apply for FMLA.

You should email your companies HR. They will keep the pregnancy confidential and let you know what your options are.

Congratulations on number 2!
 
@jfortizzle Congratulations! I had an employee start this year who told us after her start date that she was 6 months along. She technically didn't qualify for our maternity leave policy because we require 6 months of service but we still worked it out so she could take 11 weeks fully paid (our policy usually allows for 16 weeks). :)

I suggest looking at your new employer's policy as some companies are more generous and will provide leave before you hit the FMLA minimum. Then, as soon as you feel comfortable, let your boss know. If the company is decent, they'll help you figure it out.
 
@jfortizzle This happened to me with my first. I was offered my current job and discovered I was pregnant on the same day. Once they have made the offer they can’t rescind it based on your pregnancy status but obviously if they’re a shitty company they could find other reasons to fire you. But hopefully my story is comforting. I called back HR when I discovered I was pregnant because as a FTM I suddenly had a million questions about maternity leave etc (I was clueless). My HR rep asked me what was going on (I think in a nondirect way) and I decided to disclose then and there. I was really glad I did. She was so supportive and explained that my boss had recently become a FTM (at almost 50!) as well and told me she would be supportive in this situation if I chose to disclose. They were both amazing. I got to use the company’s full (generous) leave and was given tons of flexibility for appointments etc. I did make sure to get some big wins under my belt early on and do some travel within reason as long as I could, around 30 weeks. It was a great experience and I was promoted while pregnant with my second, so I never felt balancing my pregnancies with work was a conflict. Now actually parenting two and working… that’s a challenge!!
 
@mamabear777 This is very promising to hear. I’m excited but yet soooo nervous. It’s been years since I’ve had a little baby and now we live out of state with no family around. I’m super nervous but I feel I’ll feel more comfortable once I talk to HR tomorrow and find out more about their parental leave policy. It’s a city job so I’m hopeful that the benefits will be pretty decent. The main thing about my pregnancy that I’m nervous about for this job is if I’ll get flexibility for my appointments and if I do have morning sickness, what the sick days would look like. I just don’t want to ask for so many right off the bat, ya know?
 
@jfortizzle I’m in the same boat and haven’t been sure how to approach this either. I just finished my first week at a new company and am currently at 10 weeks. I’m not entirely sure when to tell my manager. I’m planning to wait at least until I’m past the 12 week mark but preferably a month. I’m a little hesitant since the company apparently doesn’t have a very good parental leave policy so I’m not sure how family friendly the team is. I’m in CA and know that I’ll at least be able to use state disability. What state are you in?
 
@katrina2017 California did have some great benefits. I took advantage of that when I was pregnant with my first. We moved to Utah now and they don’t have any other FMLA related law here except FMLA. Now it’s up to the employer and what they’re willing to offer me. :(
 
@jfortizzle I'm jumping in here, I know it's old. This thread gives me some hope and good vibes. I'm two weeks into a new job and just found out I'm pregnant (not planned). So I've been feeling a little embarrassed to tell HR and my supervisors as well as stressed about taking leave in probably 6 months and how I'll be able to afford that.

This gives me a little confidence, thanks!
 
@icameforhelp So after everything being said and done, definitely don’t feel embarrassed to tell them. I just waited until the 12 week mark just to make sure everything was okay and that I had no miscarriages or anything. Everything went well in the sense that I was able to get my leave without fear of losing my job, but I ended up leaving the job due to it being toxic. In the end, it was much better for my mental health.

Just make sure you have everything in writing and see what the parental leave policy includes. Also see if you’re able to qualify for any disability and if you’re able to set away money to go towards your HSA/FSA spending. It helped a lot with breastfeeding/postpartum supplies.
 
@jfortizzle Thank you for replying :) that's my plan to tell them at 12 weeks, maybe later. I'm going to look into what I'll be eligible for. I don't feel embarrassed anymore, I'm excited about the baby just a lot of change is coming lol
 
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