QUESTION
Maternity Leave Rules Being Changed 9 Months After Maternity Leave Was Taken
Asked on Jan 28th, 2015 on Employment Contracts - North Carolina
More details to this question:
My wife works for a mortgage company, with under 50 employees. Her company had an employee handbook that stated that maternity leave would be unpaid and she was able to take leave for up to three months. One month, before her maternity leave, they were handed a new handbook that had no guidance toward maternity leave. She signed an acknowledgment upon recieving this new handbook, that did not cover any new policy on maternity leave. She had our child, took three months leave without pay and then returned to work. Now her boss is thinking about enforcing that my wife will start her position as a new employee with the company. This means she will not take a loss in pay but will lose her vacation benefits (2 weeks with pay). She just started receiving this benefit. Can any one help?
1 ANSWER
4 Awards
There is no legally required maternity leave in North Carolina. The only time a woman is guaranteed to get maternity leave is if she is qualified for FMLA and takes FMLA leave for her maternity. However, only employers with 50 or more employees are covered by FMLA. Technically the company could have terminated your wife and then forced her to reapply or perhaps not even given her the job back.
If the company had FMLA, it could have forced your wife to use her vacation for that time period anyway. This is a seemingly unfair situation, but at least your wife has her job whether or not as a new hire.
Answered on Jan 28th, 2015 at 12:16 PM
I am an experienced attorney focusing on employment law in North Carolina and Tennessee. This post/response is not meant to constitute legal advice.