Human Resource Blog

Maternity leave

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How long do I have to give an employee for materity leave and must it be paid, for a full time employee?

Under the federal FMLA or Family and Medical Leave Act, employers must give workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave after the birth of a child. This law applies to employers who have 50 or more workers within 75 miles. No federal law requires paid or unpaid maternity leave for smaller employers.

Several states has family leave laws that apply to smaller employers. However, none of them require that the employer pay the worker. In California, maternity leave is paid by the state. Almost everywhere else, it is unpaid. California, Rhode Island, Hawaii, New Jersey and New York have temporary disability plans that pay workers for the time they are disabled after childbirth — usually 4 to 8 weeks.

If a company offers paid short term disability for other medical conditions, it must offer the same benefits for pregnancy disability under the PDA, the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act.