Motherhood Maternity

I believe you have the right to up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave during which time your employer has to hold your position for you.

Anything outside of that is voluntary and depends upon your employer’s specific policies; for instance, my employer permits me to use any combination of banked time (sick, compensatory, or vacation) during FMLA absences.

In addition, you are eligibile for disability leave in California, which will pay you a percentage of your regular wages. Unfortunately I can’t speak authoritatively about the details, but if you contact EDD they can walk you through it (since apparently your HR department cannot).

As a side note, husbands may also take advantage of FMLA to be with their wives; generally this is post birth unless the doctor is willing to formally state that the wife needs medical care prior to birth. In some cases husbands can also take disability pay after the child is born, but this depends on whether or not their employer pays for that ‘upgrade’.