Conference moira::parenting_v3

    
    Yes, I know of such a law, but it was vetoed by a kinder, gentler Bush. 
    There has also been discussion of a state law, but none has been
    passed (at least in Mass.).  Your only basis for legal action would be
    an individual "contract" between your spouse and her employer.
    
    		- Bruce
    

    
    
    
    
    Actually, there are other bases for legal action:   There are court
    precedents that make it almost imperative that employers
    
    1.  view maternity leave as short term disability.
    2.  require job "reinstatement" after short term disability.
    3.  cannot discriminate according to sex relative to benefits
    	in short term disability.
    
    If you are really having problems relative to job reinstatement due to
    maternity leave, I recommend you consult with a lawyer who specializes in 
    civil rights.  This is not just if you plan on going to court yourself, but
    because he/she could give you some insight into what government
    agencies actually require compliance with non-discriminatory business
    practices.  The employer might just find the action relative to a woman
    who takes maternity leave is more than preference.
    
    I have been "informed" by many anti-ERA people that a law guaranteeing
    the rights of females and other minorities in the workforce is not
    required, because the rights are implied in the current constitution,
    and legislation.   I, however, would like some explicit guarantees.
    
    
    -m

    I was going to enter something similar to what .2 entered. Only thing I
    would add or restate is that many small businesses do NOT offer any
    type of sick leave (paid or unpaid). But bottom line, because of
    Federal laws against sex discrimination,  an employer must treat the
    disability from pregnancy as he does all other disabilities. If he
    paid "Joe" for his leave during his hernia operation AND held his job
    open for him, then the employer would have to do the same for your
    wife.
    
                           

    I believe you need to distinguish between "DISABILITY" and "Leave Of
    Absence" - (Parental Leave of Absence).  For Digital's Policy you can
    refer to the Personnel Policies and Procedures (Orange Book, On-Line)
    section 6.17 page 3 for Short Term Disability and Section 4.23 pg 2, 3
    & 4 for Parental Leave Information to see that there is a difference on
    the return to work.  It sounds like your wife does not work for Digital
    but, it gives you an idea of the difference between the two. 
    
    
    
    

Sounds like something the ACLU would just love!

    Does the "national law" take precidence over the DEC policy? Would it
    only if "maternity leave" were not considered STD? 
    
    After learning the new national laws, I'm thinking of making sure I
    have a signed, sealed and delivered contract before I start my STD
    with #2 that will guarantee my job when I return. 
    
    Andrea

    
    I live in California and the state laws here vary from Digital policy
    regarding parental leave and disability
    .
    The state laws have precedence over Digital policy.
    
    BTW, as I understand it, the 2 month parental leave provided by DEC is NOT
    subject to a manager's discretion. So you shouldn't be worried. 
    Contact your HR PSA if you need further clarification.
    
    Rochelle 
    
    

    
    Thanks for all the info and suggestions so far. I guess I should have
    made it clear in .0 that my wife doesn't work for DEC (unfortunately).
    
    						Thanks again
    						-Steve

I posted these notes in WOMANNOTES.  I think the PARENTING community would
like to be aware of this issue.

Laura


            <<< IKE22::$1$DKB100:[NOTESFILES]WOMANNOTES-V3.NOTE;1 >>>
                        -< Topics of Interest to Women >-
================================================================================
Note 755.0              Family Leave as national policy?                 1 reply
WORDY::STEINHART "Pixillated"                        20 lines   2-APR-1991 08:50
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This morning I heard on the news that Cong. Pat Schroder (sp?) has
    introduced a "family leave" bill.  It's eliciting much controversy.  It
    guarantees unpaid leave for care of dependents.  
    
    The US is the only industrialized country to have no policy.
    
    The bill is hotly contested by organized business.
    
    A Florida professor of law was interviewed.  She was asked why there is
    such resistance in the US to this policy.  She (paraphrasing) made
    these points, "In other countries, children are viewed as a social
    asset.  They are future workers.  These countries have a demographic
    policy for supporting the bearing and rearing of children.  In the US,
    we view child bearing as a private decision.  The parents bear the
    consequences of their decision.  Hence the resistance to the bill."
    
    I'm surprised that this subject hasn't been previously discussed in
    this iteration of WN.  Shall we?
    
    Laura
================================================================================
Note 755.1              Family Leave as national policy?                  1 of 1
WORDY::STEINHART "Pixillated"                        51 lines   2-APR-1991 09:11
                    -< The US needs a family leave policy >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To kick things off, here is my position:
    
    I was never very aware of this before becoming a parent myself. 
    
    The most generous companies in the US grant 6 or 8 weeks of paid leave
    to new mothers, and most have none for fathers.  Either parent can take
    a number of weeks of unpaid parental leave.  
    
    Other countries, including all of Western Europe, Canada, Japan, and
    nearly all other industrialized countries, mandate more paid and unpaid
    leave, especially for care of children.  
    
    The US is profligate in conservation of its resources, including air,
    water, soil, AND children.  We've been blessed with a very rich, large
    land and a steady influx of highly motivated immigrants.  Our
    population has continued to grow despite the lack of a policy.  
    
    On the other hand, employers recognize that the demographics of the
    work force is changing.  Women (and minorities - which will become
    MAJorities) will constitute much of the skilled workforce in coming
    years.  This is why DEC supports Valuing Differences.  If there is no
    support for parental (and family-care) leave, employers will have a
    hard time holding on to their valued employees.
    
    It also needs to be acknowledged that a 6 or 8 week old infant is much
    too young for daycare, even with the best provider.  Childcare experts
    agree that the EARLIEST a baby should go to daycare is 12 weeks, and
    most prefer to keep the child with the mother or father for 6 months or
    more.  
    
    There is a social price for forcing mothers back to work, and young
    infants into daycare.  Not only absenteeism and lack of motivation for
    the mother, but developmental risks to the children, our future
    citizens and employees.
    
    While the need for family leave can be justified in dollars and cents,
    both now and in the future generation, there is also the argument that
    family leave is a humanitarian need.  Most parents struggle on a daily
    basis to juggle their responsibilities.  Do you take care of a young
    infant or sick child, or do you work to provide a roof and bread on the
    table?  Working parents (most parents today) are highly stressed.  Too
    many children are under-supervised.  The stress on families has many
    negative repercussions, from drug and alcohol abuse in parents and
    children, to juvenile crime, to lowered school performance and
    attendance.
    
    We cannot afford as a nation to go without a policy.  The price is
    being paid now, and will increase greatly as the next generation grows
    up.
    
    Laura

    Thanks to Laura for entering the note on the family leave bill. There 
    was a relevant article in yesterday's Boston Globe that I will quote
    in part:
    
    "Stride Rite chief blasts  Bush, Weld"  Boston Globe, 4/4/91 p.45
    
    "Arnold Hiatt, chairman of Stride Rite Corp and an outspoken advocate
    of education and workplace reform, urged President Bush and Gov. Weld
    yesterday to take a page from Hiatt's book and run their operations
    both profitably and with a social conscience.
    
    "In a speech at Stride Rite's annual meeting in Boston, where the
    company reported a 19% increase in forst-quarter earnings, Hiatt
    departed from the usual state-of-the-company fare to criticize Bush 
    for vetoing a bill that would have provided 12 weeks off without pay
    to people who have a child or who must take care of an ailing family
    member.
    
    "Hiatt dismissed Bush's argument that the bill threatened to undermine
    US competitiveness, and offered as proof his own company's  ability
    to routinely chalk up double-digit profit increases  while supporting
    employee and community programs."
    
    I agree that the US needs a family leave policy desperately. I reject
    the Republican and Libertarian stand that we should let the
    marketplace take care of these issues -- companies like Stride Rite
    and Digital are just too rare.
    
    Lucy

	Does anyone know of Digital's policy for paternity leave? I heard
	(unconfirmed) rumors that new policy took effect last July regarding
	this (I only joined Digital in September, and was given a 1988 edition
	of the benefits book.)

	-amitabh.

    Don't know of anything called "paternity leave" specifically (there's
    not even anything called "maternity leave".).  Women who give birth are
    given 6 or 8 weeks of DISABILITY leave (with pay).  People then used to 
    routinely take 3-month PERSONAL leave of absenses (without pay) to
    supplement their disability leave, subject to their manager's approval.
    (Personal leaves can be used for anything, not just childbirth).  As
    of a couple of years ago, a new type of leave was created called
    PARENTAL leave, maximum 8 weeks, which is available to anyone (male or
    female) who's had a baby (not sure of the exact conditions) with no
    managerial approval necessary.  That's probably what you're thinking of.  

<    of a couple of years ago, a new type of leave was created called
<    PARENTAL leave, maximum 8 weeks, which is available to anyone (male or

Parental leave is unpaid, and does not have to be taken only for a new baby,
but can also be taken if your child has to be hospitalized or whatever.

          Carol

    You can take 4 weeks with a guarantee of your same job on your return
    and 8 weeks with a guarantee of _some_ job but not necessarily your
    same one.  For more info you can access the on-line p&p manual:
    
    $ vtx orangebook
    
    	Linda

    Personal Leave - A leave provided to employees to enable them to
    respond to short-term personal issues.  13 week or less.
    
    Parental Leave - A leave provided to birth and adoptive parents for the
    purpose of bonding with new children.  Parental leave must be taken
    within 6-months of the birth or adoption of the child.  8 week or less.
    
    

    
    This is a bit late but I thought I would share with you what the
    entitlement of Maternity Leave is in the UK (just so you don't get
    the wrong idea about "all" of western Europe).  I am expecting to
    deliver my first child the middle of August and have been boning up on
    what I am entitled to.  I haven't got the details at work but if anyone
    wants to know more I can get the booklet from home.
    
    It is quite complicated but I will try to simplify it a bit.  What I am
    entitled to from Digital runs very nearly parallel to what is required
    by the State.  
    
    The law says that anyone who has worked for an employer for 2 years
    prior to her expected week of delivery is entitled to 29 weeks of 
    Maternity Leave counted from the actual week of delivery.  Those who
    qualify (worked 2 years) should receive six weeks pay at 9/10ths of
    their average salary (Digital pays six weeks of full salary) I am also
    entitled by the State to up to 12 weeks (Digital pays up to 18 wks) of 
    Statutory Maternity Pay to be paid by the employer (the princely sum of 
    44.50 pounds/wk) This is subject to a complicated set of rules based on 
    how many weeks before the baby is due I stop working. Those who have 
    worked less than 2 years may be entitled to lesser benefits. 
    
    Digital will also pay me for any holiday accrual that I have not taken 
    prior to going on leave. No holiday accrues while on leave.  Being on
    Maternity Leave does not effect my continuous years of service (ie it
    is not considered a break in employment) or my membership in the
    pension scheme or other schemes. I have the choice of whether or not
    I want to stay in the ESPP scheme.  I can also negotiate with my
    management and car fleet to retain the use of my lease car provided I
    maintain the lease payments.
    
    There are also rules about notifying the employer of my intention to
    return to work in order to keep my job place and lots of other things.
    I am not guaranteed the *same* job, but I am guaranteed an _equivalent_
    job upon my return. (Example, if I was a software engineer when I left
    work, I would have to be given a software engineers job upon my return.
    Though not necessarily with the same group.)
    
    The UK knows practically nothing about Paternity Leave although there
    are a few companies that provide some type of paid Paternity leave;
    usually 2-3 weeks.  Digital UK does not have a policy regarding
    Paternity Leave.
    
    Because I have no idea how I will feel about Life the Universe and
    Everything after the baby arrives, I have told my management to plan on
    me being gone the whole 29 weeks.  I may decide to return to work
    earlier but that will be decided after the baby arrives.  I have
    decided to stop work a month before the due week.  This means that I 
    will be on Leave from 15 July 1991 and not legally required to return 
    until 2 March 1992.  If I do not return by 2 March and there are no
    extenuating medical reasons for this, I can be legally and fairly 
    dismissed by my employer.
    
    I am rather looking forward to a break from office work and Digital and 
    letting my mind do something different for a change!  I just wish my
    other half could get some leave too without having to take vacation
    days.
    
    Sorry this rambled on a bit,
    
    
    LaDonna
           

    RE: 465.16
    
    LaDonna,
    
    It's nice that you can get so much time.  A new mother certainly needs
    5 or 6 months, about which time Junior starts sleeping through the
    night, if not sooner.  (Some do later, but check the string on sleeping
    for the Ferber book, which recommends techniques to "encourage"
    sleeping through.)  
    
    One thing to bear in mind, is that babies get "strange" around 7 or 8
    months.  That is, they won't go happily with someone they don't know
    very well.  This makes it hard to start day care.  It's nerve racking
    to leave a wailing child and go back to work.  So if you do return at
    that time, I'd recommend starting your child part-time at day care
    around 6 months to make the adjustment easier.  If you do start daycare
    during the "strange" age, your child will adjust.  I think it takes up
    to 5 days.   Your chosen daycare provider may be willing to take Junior
    for an occasional day or evening before you return full time.  This
    would also free you up to shop, do errands, sleep, and go out of an
    evening, while accomplishing the purpose of acclimation.
    
    Laura