Maternity Leave- Can they do this?

abegley

My company does not offer any sort of paid maternity leave. We are large enough for FMLA, but all time off is without pay. I do have STD that kicks in after 30 days but it's only 60% of my pay and it's only for as long as I medically have to be off (so for a vaginal delivery and 6 weeks off, I only get ~2 weeks STD at 60%).

ANYWAY, with my first, I used some vacation time but also saved about 3-4 days so I would have some days to use the rest of the year with a newborn if need be. I was planning to do the same thing this time. However, my HR dept just informed me that I HAVE to use every minute of my vacation and sick leave before I can take any time off without pay. I said I thought maternity leave would only require use of all sick days, not vacation time. She said I was wrong. I am not even allowed to stretch my vacation out through my time off (so I always get a paycheck). I have to use it all up at the front and right away.

Maybe this is completely legal and I just didn't know it, but it just seemed weird to me. Sucks that I will come back to work and not be able to have ANY days off for the rest of the year. I thought that being on FMLA would exempt me from those requirements. Anyone have any insight?