https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:18:12 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1738030 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 10:18:01 +0000 Adira 1738030@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Cole: Yes, they definitely cannot deny him taking FMLA. But they may be able to deny paying for his leave - that will be company specific! Good luck to you!! &lt;3 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1738022 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 10:14:36 +0000 Cole 1738022@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: Thanks! This is so tricky and he hates going on and asking when he isn't even sure he will wind up using it! They are crazy busy right now though and his requests for vacation time are being denied left and right so I want to make sure we have a way to at least make sure they aren't awful when we have a newborn! In general the company is great but they are in a rocky patch right now with too many projects and not enough staff. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1738011 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 10:10:27 +0000 septca 1738011@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: :grin: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1737975 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:59:19 +0000 Adira 1737975@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>"The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to:</p> <p>Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:<br /> * the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth"</p> <p><a href="http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/" rel="nofollow">http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/</a></p> <p>So he can take FMLA anytime within the first year of your child being born, BUT his other company related coverage may NOT be guaranteed. I suspect it depends on how those policies are worded. He'd have to ask HR about that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1737967 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:55:06 +0000 Cole 1737967@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You guys are great! I appreciate the info on FMLA, his benefits package does say the company will pay 100% of your salary after X years of service which I assume is a pretty rare benefit. I know he would need to take all of his vacation time first and then that would kick in (but it's not like that gets him more than 12 weeks). Can his office deny him FMLA if he wants to take paid time for bonding a few months later? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1737940 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:43:44 +0000 yellowbird 1737940@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My dh took 4 weeks fmla but it was all unpaid </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1737935 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:41:24 +0000 yoursilverlining 1737935@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: I swear I’m not stalking you today :silly: , but again, you’re 100% spot on. </p> <p>FMLA isn’t “generally” unpaid – it’s ALWAYS unpaid because it has absolutely nothing to do with pay. All FMLA does is offer job-protected, unpaid leave for a max of 12 weeks (26 in very specific circumstances for military service members). Receiving pay while you’re out on FMLA leave will vary depending on your company and your individual benefits package. Short-term disability provides pay while out of work, PTO/vacation/sick days provide pay while out of work, certain employers pay offer paid leave packages while you’re out of work, but FMLA offers zero pay. </p> <p>Per the Dept. of Labor, FMLA bonding time needs to be taken as a continuous block of time, unless intermittent time use is specifically approved by your employer.</p> <p>My husband had 12 weeks off paid after LO was born, but that was a function of when she was born (he’s a professor, she was born 2 days after summer break started). Had she been born during the academic year, he would have taken 12 weeks off under FMLA *and* it would have been 100% paid, but again, the pay portion is a function of his individual employer and benefits package.</p> <p>I would direct specific questions to your HR department and/or your FMLA administrator. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1737910 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:33:56 +0000 birdofafeather 1737910@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>my DH was in school, so he did not, but in the future, i would love for him to be able to take off a bit of him if he's FMLA eligible and especially getting paid at all. i would definitely have him check with his HR to have them spell out the benefits. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1737890 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:28:09 +0000 septca 1737890@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Clarification: Think of FMLA as more of a job hold guarantee than a "leave" plan. Under current law, if your husband's employer is covered under FMLA, then they are required to allow him to be out for 12 weeks (does not have to be consecutive) every 12 months to care for an immediate family member. Because FMLA is just a job hold guarantee, there is no compensation associated with FMLA - which means that you can take leave that is covered by FMLA as unpaid leave *or* - depending on company policies - you can take sick or vacation time during your FMLA time to get paid. </p> <p>If your husband's company offers paid paternity leave as a benefit, that is *separate* from FMLA, although - depending on his company's paternity leave policy - he may need to show paternity in order to take the leave. You would have to look at the company's policy to see whether the paternity leave has to be taken immediately after birth and whether it can be broken up.</p> <p>If your husband's company offers paid paternity leave and he is eligible for FMLA, he technically can take the paternity leave *and* FMLA if there was an additional medical need. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1737883 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:25:12 +0000 cookiemomster 1737883@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's called continuous or intermittent baby bonding , and he is entitled to it, although like people have said, it's not required to be paid. The way that it works he can ether take all 12 weeks at once, or he can spread it out over the first year of baby's life. Like he could take a week, then do long weekends or half days when he wants to use the rest of the time. He should ask he about the paid portion- our company runs fmla claims concurrently with personal and vacation time until you are out of paid time, after which it's unpaid leave. Every company is different though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1737864 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:20:36 +0000 night cheese 1737864@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband gets a 6-week leave paid at 75%, but he's going to take it after I go back to work. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1737857 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:19:08 +0000 Mamaof2 1737857@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: ditto about FMLA</p> <p>Generally its NOT paid but he is entitled to it. He would need to check with his HR on how that works and what paperwork is needed.</p> <p>My DH had 1 week paternity leave when DS was born but nothing when DD was born. He took off 2-3 days of work and then my mom stayed to help me out </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1737848 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:15:46 +0000 Adira 1737848@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In general, FMLA is an unpaid leave. If your husband's company offers compensation while on FMLA, he'll need to look into the specifics of that and how it works and whether he's entitled to be covered the whole 12 weeks or something less.</p> <p>I believe with FMLA, you can take it at any point within the first year for bonding, but I'm not sure how that works. I think when you set up your leave, you would just tell them when you'll be taking it and how long you will be out. His company will presumably have some sort of leave manager or HR who deals with this sort of thing. For my company, Cigna manages our FMLA leave, so when I took mine, I called them up and told them about when I was taking the leave and for how long and stuff. I had to give more medical information, but that was for the short term disability portion of my leave.</p> <p>Good luck to you and your husband! He's definitely entitled to take FMLA, but my husband didn't end up using his, so I don't have a ton of advice on how it works! &lt;3 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-anyones-so-take-fmla-when-your-baby-was-bornadopted#post-1737830 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:11:28 +0000 Cole 1737830@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband does not have paternity leave built in but he could take FMLA and due to since very generous benefits it would be 100% paid for 12 weeks. Well... I think. After X years there you qualify for 12 weeks paid, would he be able to take all 12 paid our will the paperwork require there be medical need or something similar?</p> <p>Did any of you do this? What about taking the leave at a later date? Who fills out the paperwork if you want to take it later in the year? Any other details you could share? I will be a sahm so unless we run into major issues we don't need to take this much time but I am sort of curious about how it works. I think he is on the fence about using it but there are a few reasons it would be nice to have more time than he has saved in vacation time. </p>