Maternity

      If you find out you are pregnant, you should contact Jacque Diggs at the EAP office.  Around your 5th month of pregnancy you need to begin to consider your maternity and disability leave options.  Jacque will be glad to sit down with you and explain the insurances and help you write your letter requesting your leave of absence.

    With a "normal" pregnancy, an employee is considered disabled 30 days prior to and 30 days after childbirth.  Many obstetricians will disable a woman longer if there are complications or if the child was delivered by caesarian.  Provided that you have been employed in the  district long enough to qualify for disability insurance, these pregnancy related disabilities are covered.

    A maternity leave is different from a disability leave.  Maternity is child-rearing leave and is available for births and adoptions.  (Paternity is available for new dads too!)  While a maternity leave may start at any time, contractually it may only end on February 1 and September 1.  An employee is entitled to take a maternity leave for the remainder of the year in which they leave, plus one additional year.   However, leave of a shorter duration is also available under the Family Leave Act. 

    There are many factors to take into consideration when going out on leave to have a child.  These include the impact it will have on your placement on the salary guide, whether or not you have achieved tenure, purchasing pension time, and the impact on your longevity.  Make sure you understand the ramifications of your leave so that you can make the right choices based on your needs.