Hello HR experts!
I have 2 questions:
1. If I’m on maternity leave then personal leave (not FMLA, California pregnancy disability) does that count towards my time worked at a company? I am also taking 2 months personal leave with zero pay.
2. Can I legally work for 2 companies at once (they are not competing companies) for 6 weeks so I don’t have to pay back my sign on bonus?
* my contract states if I terminate my employment within 12 months I have to repay the sign on bonus*
so pretty much, does all this leave count towards my 12 months?
First, Discounted service results from an Employer's HR policy that states your "date of eligibility" (usually your date of hire) for certain benefits will be adjusted forward for absences such as unpaid leave, personal leave, etc. This would be like having a DOE of 2/1/22 that is adjusted to 2/15/22 for two weeks of unpaid leave. And this would result in what is called an "adjusted service date." It is unlikely FMLA leave would result in a service date adjustment. Though this is not specifically stated in the Act, it speaks to discrimination using attendance policies. Likewise, CA Pregnancy Disability is meant (like most State sponsored leave acts) to be MORE lenient than FMLA. So if your employer "discounts" your employment service for other leaves - they may be able to discount your employment service if they are consistent. But you would need to evaluate all the rules on of potential leave programs to be certain. For example, you might be able to combine FMLA and CA programs to gain more protection under both if it is an advantage for your employment situation. They can run concurrently or sequentially - it may be in the law or up to the employer. Check with HR. If you can use both, you may have the added protection to ensure service continuity for the personal leave.
Once you reach unpaid leave, you may be out of protected status - you need to know so you aren't blindsided by a change to your insurance coverage or cost or some other negative impact. For example, your job might not be guaranteed at this point - so be sure you analyze every step of this tunnel.
Second, I can't tell where the two companies are coming from and it doesn't matter if they are competing or not. Have you already left the company where you have a sign-on bonus? since it sounds like working for them for 6 weeks would complete your 12 months of service and satisfy your contract? It sounds like you are contemplating taking a new position, or already have, and are pregnant. And perhaps you have worked out a deal with the company where you would continue to work for 6 weeks to fulfill your obligations?
So - no, technically it is not illegal. However, this is moonlighting and some employers have policies against this though they are kind of old fashioned. But if you have to, you have to. Based on your description, I'm unclear if you are going to be eligible for CA Pregnancy Disability or FMLA since you have less than 12 months at your previous job and are talking about working both jobs during the transition. I would look very closely at the eligibility requirements of all potential leaves - FMLA, CA Pregnancy Disability and CA PDL - they may all have different eligibility rules and you are in transition with minimal hours. It may depend on your due date or if you have a fairly healthy pregnancy.
Thank you for your response so much info!!
so I am currently on pregnancy disability, I reviewed my contract and it states that I just cannot work for a company that is a competitor during my time with my current company. Doesn’t say anything about being a contractor somewhere else or having a second job.
since I am currently on leave, and when I come back I’d only have 6 weeks to fill the obligation of being with the current company for a year it would in fact save me a lot of $ not to pay back the sign on bonus. The company I just got a role from is allowing my to start post time off with my baby, and there is also nothing in my contract with them that states I cannot have a second job.
so it would be working 2 jobs at the same time for 6 weeks in order to not pay that sign on back. However, as much as I would love to ask my HR department I do not trust them whatsoever. They have not been the best during my time there, hence a big reason as to why I am planning to leave the company.
I hope my response added some more insight to the situation.
ok.
Now I understand more clearly and you are mixing two separate issues - your payback obligation and your employment. If I understand it, here's the timeline...(date) current contract starts....(date) CA pregnancy disability starts....(date) return to work at current position after leave AND simultaneously start working with new company(six weeks duration)...(date) leave current position and work solely with new position with new company.
First, the contract with the repayment obligation (sounds like a headhunting contract) is the contract that governs when your repayment obligation is fulfilled. So it is that contract that determines whether and how leave time is counted toward your obligation. The repayment doesn't have anything to do with your current employer. The recruitment contract is the governing legal document and it is how that contract is written regarding counting leave time toward fulfillment that will govern the payback obligation. Read this contract again - there should be legal wording as to what types of hours specifically count toward fulfillment of your "time worked". If you are unclear, contact the company and find out how your leave time will count.
As for working two jobs - you probably can legally work two jobs because it sounds like the new job is not through the recruitment company. So the requirement that you don't work for a competitor is the only constraint. I don't think you have an issue here other than juggling all of this at one time.
But reviewing that contract for language on leave hours is critical! Because the other side of that equation is that if you leave early, the recruiting company has to either return all or a portion of the fee they charged the employer you are working for. So they are not going to allow you to leave them on the hook. However, sometimes the payback obligation is reduced to give the candidate credit for the amount of time fulfilled. Something like you might have satisfied 80-90% of the payback, and only owe 10-20%. Since it is a contract, there should be clear language and you should be able to get clarity from the company in writing.
It was part of my contract with the company. I didn’t get recruiter by an outside recruiting agency. And the contract I signed for the sign on bonus does not clarify hours it only says 12 months from start date. I think my best bet is just to call HR which is a nightmare at this company I’m currently with.
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In most companies, your leave will count towards you continued work with the company. They would need to terminate your employment to not count the time on leave towards total time served.
But, with that said, each company writes their own policy so you would need to read the fine print on exceptions with regards to the calculations of Leave and sign on bonuses. There is room for companies to write guidelines so please consult the company policy abd or handbook and an attorney for clarification.
The best part is they don’t have these types of policies! I have asked to review an employee handbook many times and they respond with “we don’t have one”