Im a new hire and im pregnant

newnurse1986 · Jun 21, 2013

So what y'all are saying is even though I don't qualify for FMLA because it'll be before 12 months I will still get 4-6 weeks leave?

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Jun 21, 2013

Yeah, it just won't come with the protections FMLA carries. But hiring a replacement and training them takes time, so if you show yourself to be a good investment they'll likely work with you on your leave.

Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM · Jun 22, 2013

Interviewed for a new job last week and was offered employment this week. I start next Wednesday. With all this going on I just discovered I haven't had a June period so I took a test a wow its +. I go to the OB on July 16 and I'm calculating I'm 5 weeks now and will be 8 weeks at my OB appointment..when and how should I tell my new boss...I'm worried ill get "let go". Any wise words or suggestions? You have to be at a job 12 months before you can get FMLA and I'm due in February... What about short term disability? I dont know what to do :-/ my friend who works in a different dept at this same hospital started when she was 15 weeks pregnant and got FMLA even though she wasn't there 12 months( she was there 5 months)...her department was fine with everything and she had no trouble! Hope ill be able to say the same..

I don't understand the need to tell your boss at all until something comes up until you need to ask for a restriction, such as an isolation patient (yes, I know, it shouldn't matter, but good nurses trade assignments with pregnant ones so they are not exposed at all).

They will figure it out eventually.

Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM · Jun 22, 2013

So what y'all are saying is even though I don't qualify for FMLA because it'll be before 12 months I will still get 4-6 weeks leave?

Childbirth is treated like any other short-term disability. So if your doctor writes you out for 4 weeks, six weeks, whatever, that is what you get.

You need to check with your facility policy to find out how this works. The most common combination is for all of your PTO to be used before short-term disability kicks in, or you may not be able to use it at all until 14 days have passed...it depends.

Under federal guidelines, your employer is not legally obligated to give you 12 weeks leave.

anotherone, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2013

I don't understand the need to tell your boss at all until something comes up until you need to ask for a restriction, such as an isolation patient (yes, I know, it shouldn't matter, but good nurses trade assignments with pregnant ones so they are not exposed at all).
They will figure it out eventually.

On my floor we get plenty of isolation. Pregnancy does not matter unless it is one of the isolations that are really contraindicated. And for mrsa, vre, cdiff, flu,esbl, 699lb pts who jeed turn/ repo, 1:1s.... you'll get those too.... sometimes we only have a handful of pts that aren't in one of those categories. Don't expect all the easy walkie talkies if pregnant or extra help from most staff. some of them actually seem resentful for being expected to pick up more work.... We have had 9 month pregnant nurses and they have to take the same assignment as everyone else with few exceptions.

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2013

Say nothing until you have to. It's not required to notify them at a certain time I don't think. Check with some lawyers, say nothing, save as much sick time/PTO as you can, save holidays. Pregnancy might be a disability. Your OB might have a little info, but check with some employment attorneys, not HR. HR looks out for employers, not for workers.

Cora_Ann · Jun 22, 2013

Accidents happen and all, but I see so many of these posts. Did it ever occur to many a new grad that starting as a new grad RN is not the opportune time to put oneself in this position? Since when is pregnancy a disability?

I have to agree with this.

Munch · Jun 22, 2013

I have to agree that being pregnant is not considered a disability(unless the mother needs bed rest or is violently ill the whole time). But most employers have policy regarding maternity leave. They usually PAY you 4-6 weeks for a vag delivery and 6-8 weeks for a c-section. If you want anymore time it is on your dime and your time(say vacation time or something). If the place that just hired you has a daycare center that would be really great. You can bring your baby to work with you and go check on him/her on your lunch hour/break.

As far as being fired or "let go"because you are pregnant..my friend landed a job in a big teaching hospital here in the suburbs. She found out she was pregnant about two months after she got the job. She told them she was pregnant and they fired her. Well she hired a lawyer and let's say she made more money from them that year than she would have made in a week. AND another hospital hired her at 6 months pregnant. I think the deal is they can't let you go if you are already hired and they find out you are pregnant AFTER you are hired. If you are pregnant and they decided not to hire you that's simply the employers choice "you didn't meet the needs of the company" as they say.

BSNbeauty, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2013

No advice but congrats and don't stress.

duskyjewel · Jun 22, 2013

Just some advice: don't use your pregnancy as an excuse not to do your job. You knew you were a nurse, or about to be one, when you got pregnant. You knew the risks of the job. Don't be that nurse who refuses to go into isolation rooms because you're pregnant. We had one of those in the tele unit I used to work in. Every single stinking shift, "Oh, I can't go in THAT room!" Trust me, everyone hated her more every time she said it.

There was an aide on our floor who worked until the day she went into labor. They literally sent her to L&D in the middle of her shift. She never tried to claim she couldn't go in those rooms, and funny how no one ever suggested she shouldn't have to. But of course, she was JUST an aide..... :-/

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2013

I have to agree that being pregnant is not considered a disability(unless the mother needs bed rest or is violently ill the whole time). But most employers have policy regarding maternity leave. They usually PAY you 4-6 weeks for a vag delivery and 6-8 weeks for a c-section. If you want anymore time it is on your dime and your time(say vacation time or something). If the place that just hired you has a daycare center that would be really great. You can bring your baby to work with you and go check on him/her on your lunch hour/break.
As far as being fired or "let go"because you are pregnant..my friend landed a job in a big teaching hospital here in the suburbs. She found out she was pregnant about two months after she got the job. She told them she was pregnant and they fired her. Well she hired a lawyer and let's say she made more money from them that year than she would have made in a week. AND another hospital hired her at 6 months pregnant. I think the deal is they can't let you go if you are already hired and they find out you are pregnant AFTER you are hired. If you are pregnant and they decided not to hire you that's simply the employers choice "you didn't meet the needs of the company" as they say.

Paid maternity leave is a rarity in the US. Nowhere I've worked has offered it. If you work at a hospital that offers paid maternity leave, do all your childbearing while still employed there!

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2013

So what y'all are saying is even though I don't qualify for FMLA because it'll be before 12 months I will still get 4-6 weeks leave?

We are not lawyers......we cannot provide legal advice.....it is true that you need to have worked for a year for that employer

Eligibility
(Q) Who can take FMLA leave?
In order to be eligible to take leave under the FMLA, an employee must:
work for a covered employer;
have worked 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of leave; (special hours of service rules apply to airline flight crew members)
work at a location where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles; and
have worked for the employer for 12 months. The 12 months of employment are not required to be consecutive in order for the employee to qualify for FMLA leave. In general, only employment within seven years is counted unless the break in service is (1) due to an employee�s fulfillment of military obligations, or (2) governed by a collective bargaining agreement or other written agreement.

now FLMA is NOT a paid leave and just because you don't qualify doesn't mean your facility will not give you an approved Leave of Absence (LOA) to have your baby. While FLMA protects your "job" it does not protect your exact position. Which means they have to keep you as a nurse but they don't have to keep your position on that floor.

Calm down......take a deep breath. You are not the first newly hired nurse to find out she is pregnant....((HUGS)).... and you won't be the last. I would keep your excited news to yourself until about 12 to 15 weeks. Then discuss with your manager/HR the plan for your leave.

If however you work on an oncology floor you will need to tell them sooner rather than later as you cannot administer/handle certain chemo agents.

These links may help....http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/fmla-faqs.htm

http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/