If you are a pregnant mother in Florida, you may be wondering how you can
get time off work to recover from childbirth and spend time with your
newborn baby. Thankfully, the
Labor Law Center reports that all public or private sector employees, you have a right
to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in order to take care of a newborn baby. Maternity
leave can also be employed if you recently adopted a child and want to
spend time with the new addition to your family. This is declared in the
Family Medical Leave Act but you must work for an employer with more than
50 employees in a 75-mile radius.
Unfortunately, in Florida even maternity leave doesn’t guarantee
that your job will be help. If you are in the top 10 percent of highest
paid employees, you can be let go during your leave for economic purposes.
The company is required to let you know about this provision when you
go on leave. That way, when you chose to take the time off, you should
be fully aware as to whether or not you are in the top 10 highest paid
employees in the company. The company also has to give you the option
of returning to work before your leave is up. If you refuse to come back,
then they may be able to let you go.
The Florida state employees can have six months of parental or family leave
for a new born and newly adoption child, or to take care of a spouse who
is on pregnancy bed rest or recovering from child birth. If you are a
private sector employee, then the Labor Law Center declares that you do
not have any job protection or benefits as a new parent. You can use the
Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family Medical Leave Act to your
benefit though, if you run into trouble with your employer. Talk to a
family law attorney today if you need more information about maternity or paternity leave!