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Short Term Disability maternity benefits

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What forms need to be filled out when an employee is applying for paid maternity leave?
Thanks,

Sheena

This will depend upon the state the employee is in, and company policy. Most companies in the US do not provide paid maternity benefits. Employers with 50 or more workers within 75 miles are required to offer up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave under the FMLA, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Some states have similary laws for smaller employers, but only California requires that the leave be paid. And, California family leave is paid by the state, not the employer. Forms for FMLA leave including certification can be found here: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

Five states have short term disability plans that cover virtually all employees. They are New Jersey, New York, Hawaii, Rhode Island and California. In those states, you would apply to the state agency that handles disability benefits.

A few employers offer paid maternity leave, even though there is no law that they must do so. This is strictly a matter of company policy. However, under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act or PDA, an employer who offers benefits to workers with other types of short term medical disabilities, must offer the same benefits to women on pregnancy disability. In this case, the HR department or management should have papers for the employee to complete.

Some employees are covered under short term disability insurance. The employee should contact the insurance carrier to find out what forms to fill out, to complete a claim.

In some cases, pregnancy disability forms cannot be completed until the employee is actually disabled.