Pregnancy can be a physically taxing experience, and sometimes it can lead to complications that result in a disability, rendering the patient unable to work and needing maternity leave. But what legal rights do disabled mothers have in terms of maternity leave?
Disabled pregnant mothers have many rights with regard to maternity leave, starting with the American Disabilities Act, which requires employers to provide disabled pregnant mothers with the reasonable accommodations they need. Other legal safeguards include the Family Leave Act, state laws, and individual employers’ policies.
Continue reading as we go into more detail about these laws.
Disability Benefits and Maternity Leave
In some cases, your disability benefits can provide you with financial assistance during your maternity leave. Short-Term Disability (STD) benefits and long-term disability benefits are common types that may offer such assistance, depending on the policy.
Short-term Disability Benefits
Short-term disability insurance replaces your income if you can’t work because of an illness or injury that happened on or off the job. It usually covers pregnancy as well.
Medical certification is required to qualify for maternity benefits under short-term disability plans if you cannot work due to your pregnancy, delivery, or recovery.
You may be eligible to receive fifty to seventy percent of your salary if you have short-term disability through your work. This benefit is normally granted for a period of six to eight weeks after the delivery of your child, depending on the manner of delivery.
Maternity leave and other benefits may be available for a pregnancy with complications. Make sure you know what your policy covers before you go on leave because different policies have different requirements.
Long-term Disability Benefits
Usually, normal pregnancy and recovery won’t be covered by long-term disability insurance (LTD) you bought through your employer or privately from an insurance company.
This is because LTD plans have a longer elimination period. But complications are a different scenario, just like with STD coverage. If a problem makes you unable to work, it will usually be covered as long as the condition lasts long enough to meet the LTD benefit waiting period.
Also, pregnancy can make other health problems worse that may have been under control, like Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Your LTD policy may pay for your missed work due to postpartum depression if you have never had a mental health problem before.
How to Apply for Disability Benefits During Pregnancy
You should have no trouble enrolling in disability insurance and receiving any benefits available to you if you have recently started working at a workplace that provides such coverage.
You usually aren’t required to answer health questions or undergo a medical exam when you enroll in an employer plan, sometimes called a “group” plan, because the plan purchases coverage for numerous employees simultaneously, and there is no medical underwriting.
There may be limits on coverage if you have a pre-existing condition. Read your insurance policy or ask human resources for more information.
When it comes to purchasing disability insurance on your own, things are different. The majority of the time, medical underwriting is required for individual plans or voluntary group policies for both short term and long term disability. Additionally, pre-existing conditions are often not covered.
In the event that you submit your application while you are pregnant, it will be accepted as a pre-existing condition. The insurance company may be responsible for writing the policy but will likely not cover pregnancy-related or disability-related claims.
Laws Related to Maternity Leave
Following are some laws regarding maternity leave that you should know about.
American Disabilities Act (ADA)
The ADA requires employers with more than 15 employees to provide maternity leave for disabled pregnant women. This is because the ADA mandates that employers provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees, and maternity leave is considered to be a reasonable accommodation under this law.
However, the ADA does not outline the number of leaves an employee may take, how much they should get paid during this time or other details. These details are ironed out on an individual employee basis, in light of the worker’s disability and the kind of job position they hold.
Federal Family Medical Leave Act
FMLA may protect your job while on maternity leave but not your income. There isn’t a set amount of maternity leave, but the FMLA protects your job for up to 12 weeks if you need to care for a sick family member, a newborn or adopted child, or yourself.
While your company must support you by keeping your job, they are not obligated to pay you while you are on maternity leave.
FMLA can protect if:
- There are at least fifty workers within a 75-mile radius of your workplace.
- You have been an employee for at least a year.
- You put in a minimum of 1,250 hours of work within the last 12 months.
State Paid Family Leave Laws
A growing number of states are passing Paid Family Leave (PFL) legislation, which offers paid leave for employees who need it. In this way, they go beyond FMLA in recognition of the significance of maternity leave.
It is up to each state to decide which workers and circumstances are eligible for paid leave, how long the leave lasts, how much is paid, and how the fund is backed.
Search the state government website for “Paid Family Leave” to discover the rules and benefits for your home state if you reside in one of those states.
Paid Leaves From Employers
Employers have the option to offer paid family leave benefits to their employees, regardless of whether or not their state mandates paid maternity leave. Although workers usually expect their companies to pay for their sick days and holiday days, they don’t always ask about maternity leave.
Conclusion
If you are pregnant and disabled, you do not have to worry about maternity leave since it is likely to be covered through the ADA, FMLA, state laws, or your employer’s policy. Furthermore, you may be able to get disability benefits during your maternity leave through short- and long-term disability policies.
