I’m pregnant and my human resources office has designated my prenatal visits as Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. I want to save all of my FMLA leave for when the baby is born. How can I do that?
It’s understandable that you’d want to save your FMLA leave
for when the baby is born. However, the FMLA requires employers to give
employees up to 12 weeks total of FMLA leave each year for birth or adoption
of a child or due to the serious health condition of the employee or a
family member. The Department of Labor FMLA regulations define prenatal
visits as a serious health condition, as explained in A&M System Regulation 31.03.05,
Family and Medical Leave, sections 2.7.1(2)(b) and 4.1.1. Basically, according
to federal law, any time before and after your baby’s birth when
you are not able to work for medical reasons, including for prenatal care,
as well as time for bonding after the birth, qualify for FMLA designation.
The law makes the employer responsible for designating qualifying time
as part of an employee’s FMLA entitlement. Employees cannot choose
to have some qualifying time not count as FMLA. 