Human Resource Blog

Ohio Maternity Leave

	Attendance Management
Vacation Request / Response Form Weekly Time Sheets Attendance Calendar for 2008, 2009, or 2010 Annual Attendance Tracker Vacation Request Form for 2008, 2009, 2010 (Calendar) Detailed Absence Report

	Benefits
Total Compensation Summary Performance Improvement Plan Performance Appraisal and Review Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Employee Change Form

	Hiring and Staffing
Complete Business Forms Kit CD Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Employment Application Long Form Substance Testing Consent Form Pre-Employment Reference and Background Check Employment Offer/Acknowledgment Receipt of Employee Handbook New Hire Survey

We have a number of pregnant employees. To make scheduling easier, can we require that they go on maternity leave at 8 months and return when the baby is 8 weeks old?

Federal law does not allow employers in Ohio, or any other state, to enact this type of policy.  Eligible employees are permitted to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave on an annual basis.  This ruling falls under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1986.  Though FMLA leave is unpaid, it is job-protected, which means workers do not have to worry about the security of their jobs while they are on leave. 

When a woman goes on maternity leave, the length of her absence can only be determined by the woman and her physician.  Employers do not have the right to have any input into this decision.

The Family and Medical Leave Act applies to those businesses having 50 or more workers.  It is applicable throughout the United States. 

Some states in the U.S. have chosen to expand the FMLA regulations to include coverage for smaller businesses.  Some of these states include New Jersey, Vermont, Rhode Island, Hawaii, California, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Maine, Oregon, and Washington. 

According to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, employers cannot treat maternity leave any differently than they treat other temporary disabilities.  The PDA is a federal law. It is a part of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  This particular law applies to all businesses in the United States that have at least 15 employees.  It applies to private businesses, and to local and state governments as well. 

Under the PDA, “an employer may not institute a rule that prohibits a woman from returning to work for a predetermined length of time after childbirth.”  What this basically means is that new mothers have to be allowed to return to work as long as she can provide a physician’s release stating that she is physically able to perform the duties of her job.  JH