Human Resource Blog

Georgia Maternity Leave

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I’m the president of a large company in Georgia, with a number of pregnant employees. To make scheduling easier, I’d like to institute a company policy that all pregnant women have to start maternity leave one month before their due date, and end it two months after their due date. Can you think of any reason why I shouldn’t do this?

In Georgia, as well as all other states in the country, it would be illegal to enact such a policy.

The applicable federal law here is the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. The law is more commonly referred to as FMLA. Under this law, workers who are eligible are permitted to take up to 12 weeks per year of unpaid leave.

Leave under the FMLA is job-protected, so it provides workers with some sense of security when they need to be away from work for an extended period of time. It is extremely important for employers to understand that the length of a worker’s maternity leave is solely determined by the worker and her doctor.

Women may have different opinions about whether to take more time off work prior to the birth of a child, or after the birth. Sometimes complications related to the pregnancy require workers to take time off prior to their due date.

Employers throughout this country that have at least 50 employees must abide by the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Some states have chosen to provide expanded FMLA coverage to smaller businesses. Some states that have opted to enact state family leave laws include Oregon, California, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Washington, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Vermont, Maine, and New Jersey.

Employers should not treat pregnancy differently than they would a heart attack or other temporary disability. Employers have to treat maternity leave exactly as they would any other type of disability, according to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. This act is a federal law that is a part of Title VII of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964. The PDA is applicable to all employers throughout the United States that have at least 15 employees.

Almost all doctors recommend that women take a certain amount of time off work after having a baby. For women who have caesarians, the recommended time is usually eight or more weeks, while for normal births, six weeks is generally recommended. JH