Can I Collect Unemployment if I Am on Paternity Leave?

You typically cannot collect unemployment while on paternity leave.

In most cases, workers who are temporarily unemployed due to paternity leave will not qualify for unemployment compensation. This is because federal and state governments design their cooperative unemployment insurance programs to aid workers who lose their job for situations out of their control, such as their employer’s bankruptcy or the elimination of their positions. It’s intended as a short-term means to provide relief to workers while they search for a replacement position.

No-Fault Unemployment

The U.S. Department of Labor requires that all state unemployment insurance programs provide benefits only to workers who are unemployed because of no fault of their own. Most state agencies consider paternity leave a voluntary separation from work. Even in cases where a father must leave work to provide care for a newborn, most unemployment authorities consider this situation a lifestyle decision that disqualifies an applicant from receiving benefits.

Able and Available for Work

State unemployment insurance agencies require laid-off workers to be available to be physically able to work and have the time to immediately take a position if it’s offered. Because workers on paternity leave are out of the workforce on a scheduled absence, which presumably ends when the father uses his accrued leave allotment, it’s unlikely a worker would take another job if offered, further reinforcing his ineligibility to receive benefits.

FMLA and Paternity Leave

In many cases, employees who temporarily leave their jobs for paternity leave can’t be terminated for the absence. As of the time of publication, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires all public employers and private employers with 50 or more employees to grant workers up to 12 weeks of leave for the birth and care of a newborn. Employees must have been employed for 12 months and have worked 1,250 hours in the past year to be covered by FMLA, which also requires they be allowed to return to their position or a similar one following the absence.

Payment on FMLA Leave

Although many employers are required to provide workers with FMLA leave following the birth of a child, the law doesn’t require the employer to pay employees during that period. If a worker accrued paid medical or personal leave before going on FMLA leave, employers may require workers to use accrued leave as part of the 12-week allotment guaranteed by FMLA. For example, if a worker accrued 15 days of sick leave, the employer may require him to use it during paternity leave, where he receives three weeks of paid leave and another nine of unpaid leave.

References

• A.S.K. Benefit Solutions: Unemployment During Maternity Leave
• U.S. Department of Labor: State Unemployment Insurance
• Social Security Administraiton: Unemployment Insurance Benefits
• CNN Money; Unemployed? More Help For You; Jessica Dickler; October 2008
• U.S. Department of Labor: Family and Medical Leave