@yarnknitting That sounds about right for CA. Maternity leave here is complicated but yet it’s pretty good by US standards. I have 3 kids and each leave was structured differently due to being at different companies and changing plans on leave.
Overall though most moms I know took off at least 3 months, some 4. I never went out early but many are able to get disability a month before the baby is due.
@yarnknitting That’s better than I get. My husband’s work has 14 week fully paid and that’s the best I’ve ever heard of. If you’re getting 16 weeks full pay I’d say that’s about as good as you’ll get in the US.
@yarnknitting It's similar to what my company offers, and I think it's pretty good. They don't have the additional 4 weeks after a year of service, but they cover the 12 weeks 100%.
My last job covered 6 weeks and STD covered 6 weeks at around 50%. Pregnancy is a pre-existing condition, however, so if you didn't have coverage when you got pregnant, you couldn't get the STD coverage.
@yarnknitting This is similar to what I took for both my kids and how it worked out. I did 20 weeks, the last 6 weeks were unpaid both times. It was great, basically as good as it gets in the US.
@yarnknitting Oh wow. That sounds great for the U.S. My company has probably one of the best maternity leaves in town, and it’s still only 6 weeks paid, and can take 6 more weeks unpaid.
@yarnknitting 16 weeks paid is generous. That’s what I get and I’m soooooooo lucky.
Obviously it’s not great compared to leave offered in other countries, but trust me, 16 weeks fully paid is awesome. A lot of my good friends only had options for 6 or 8 weeks depending on birth or c section, all unpaid.