For eligible employees (one year of service and 1,250 hours worked in past 12 months), maternity leaves are handled under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993. Under the FMLA, eligible employees are allowed up to 12 weeks (in a rolling 12-month period) of job and benefit protected leave.
To apply for a maternity leave under the FMLA, you must complete an FMLA Request form and have your physician complete an FMLA Medical Certification form and return the completed FMLA form, a minimum of 30 days prior to your estimated due date, to:
Employment Service Center
1900 Academic/Administrative Building
5700 Cass Avenue
Detroit, MI 48202
(313) 577-7508 fax
Pregnancy is considered a normal condition and you are expected to work up to your delivery unless your physician provides a written statement indicating that you have a medical condition that would make it medically necessary for you to be off work in advance of your delivery date. Conditions that may require you to be off work in advance of your delivery would include, for example, a high-risk pregnancy, severe hypertension, or pre-term labor, etc.
Prenatal visits and pregnancy-related illnesses are also covered by the FMLA. In order to charge time off work due to pregnancy related illnesses and prenatal visits as FMLA, you must request and be approved for an FMLA intermittent leave of absence.
You are required to substitute paid leave for unpaid leave by using your illness and vacation bank balances for your maternity leave. You may use your illness bank only during the period of time in which you are medically unable to work. The standard recovery period for vaginal deliveries is approximately six weeks. The standard recovery period for c-section deliveries is approximately eight weeks. During your physician specified recovery period, you are medically unable to work and will, therefore, be allowed to use any time you have accumulated in your illness bank to be paid for your time off. Following your medically necessary recovery period, however, your leave will be converted to a child care leave. During the child care portion of your leave, as you are no longer medically unable to work, you will NOT be allowed to use your illness bank. Rather, you MUST use any time you have accumulated in your vacation bank. Upon exhaustion of your vacation bank, you will become eligible for unpaid time off work for the remainder of your approved leave.
If any portion of your maternity leave will be unpaid, you must contact Total Compensation and Wellness at (313) 577-3717 to make arrangements to continue paying any employee-paid medical insurance premiums that would otherwise be deducted from your paycheck. Failure to do so may result in the cancellation of your medical insurance coverage. For benefit related information regarding your maternity leave, please see "What to do When You Have a Baby," and "Leave of Absence Medical Rates" on the Total Compensation and Wellness website.
Adding your new baby to your medical insurance is NOT automatic. Please be sure to contact Total Compensation and Wellness at (313) 577-3717 to add your new baby to your medical insurance coverage. You must do so within 30 days of your delivery date to add your new dependent to your medical insurance. If you miss this 30 day grace period, you will not be able to add your new dependent to your medical insurance until the next open enrollment period.