Hospital Maternity Leave Policy
Hospitals must comply with state and federal law in developing maternity leave policies. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act are the prevailing statutes applicable on the federal level.
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Pregnancy Discrimination
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The Pregnancy Discrimination Act protects a hospital employee against termination on account of her pregnancy. The Act also prevents a hospital from requiring an employee to take time off prior to her delivery.
In simple terms, the PDA requires a hospital to extend the same job protections and benefits that are extended to male and female employees who cannot work due to a medical condition.
Hospitals and Paid Maternity Leave
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Federal law does not require hospitals to provide paid maternity leave unless of course the hospital provides paid leave to those who cannot work due to injury or sickness.
In most states, hospitals are not required to provide paid maternity leave. California is an exception.
California, like most of Europe, Africa and Asia requires paid maternity leave. Those countries require three months of paid leave. -
Unpaid Maternity Leave
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Hospitals must comply with the The Family and Medical Leave Act. FMLA mandates that hospitals provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth of a child. The unpaid leave does not have to be taken in consecutive weeks but can be broken up into small segments.
The Act protects an employee’s position while on leave. In addition, seniority, job benefits and salary increases that would ordinarily apply must be extended to the employee on leave.
FMLA generally covers employers with 50 or more employees. Most hospitals meet this requirement.
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References
- Photo Credit Nurse holding a young patient dressed up as a nurse image by Allen Penton from Fotolia.com
