Afraid I’ll be let go once I tell my employer I am 6 months pregnant - I am not protected by FMLA.

Anonymous

January 8,2024 at 7:25AM UTC

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Afraid I’ll be let go once I tell my employer I am 6 months pregnant - I am not protected by FMLA.

I was sought out by a recruiter to join a company that seemed like a good cultural fit, was an opportunity to grow in my career and provide means to better financial support my family. I found out I was expecting the same time as receiving the offer.

Since starting the beginning of September, I have been going above and beyond to prove myself, fill in gaps for roles we’re missing and to set the company up for success in 2024. I’m managing a team of three - including myself we’re one half of the staff. The owner has been happy with my contributions.

That being said it only takes one little thing for him to decide that he wants you out. The owner has let go of 45% of the employees in my 3-mo. Currently, there are only two people that have been with the company over a year - including the owner.

I have been waiting for 2024 contracts to close before telling him - I thought a significant one was going to close before the holidays and we’re still waiting.

I have a lot of anxiety around this because I cannot financially afford to lose my job. I am updating my resume and have just started applying to positions.

At what point should I tell my employer?

Any tips on searching and interviewing for jobs when almost 7 months pregnant?

Advice on if I should wait until the baby is born to look? If I get an offer before the baby is born I will most likely only be able to work a month or two before going on leave. My goal is to take 12 weeks which means going back mid-July.

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Emily ChangJanuary 8,2024 at 1:25PM UTC
That sounds hard and complicated! Most companies will have a minimum time served to be eligible for any paid parental leave policy. Even FMLA has a 1 year service requirement to be eligible. With that in mind, changing companies is probably not going to benefit you before baby is born. I would wait until contracts are signed, but you'll definitely be showing soon if not already, so there's a time limit. Additionally, some companies require you to alert them 30 days prior to taking long leaves.
If you can afford to take unpaid leave, it's worth negotiating. If that falls through, you can take your leave, apply to jobs now and start after your 12 week period with baby. Having a start date for a new role in mid-July isn't terribly far off in the future.
One big thing to consider is if you have health insurance through your employer. You'll want to be on insurance for hospital bills etc with baby and that might make staying at your current role all the more priority. If they fire you, they might include a continuation of health benefits that will cover your birth. So it could work out multiple ways!
AnonymousJanuary 8,2024 at 2:01PM UTC
I'll start by saying I am too far from the childbearing phase to know from experience how this is handled today. I know some changes require a certain amount of paid leave for pregnancy, but I'm not sure if that was part of FMLA. It would be good to get a definitive answer on that and be aware when getting advice from others that the rules/laws may differ from state to state, plus the company may have additional benefits that you may not be aware of. Start with the company's employee handbook, then check your state's Department of Labor to see if they have specific state-mandated leave requirements. Once you have a handle on that, I agree that you should wait until your contracts close if you can. Be aware that pregnancy is a protected class, so I don't think they can let you go just because you are pregnant, but that doesn't stop them from finding something else. Whether you start looking immediately or choose to wait depends on your financial and insurance information.
Be aware that you can probably find insurance on the healthcare.gov exchange much cheaper than the company-sponsored COBRA payments and are more likely to be able to cover both you and the baby.