How Does Pregnancy Leave Work in Florida?

Needing to take a significant time away from your job can be concerning and frustrating, especially if you are not certain about the rights you have at your Florida workplace under state and federal law. In particular, for employees who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, finding out about leave is critical, and it can often feel stressful for pregnant employees to think about how to approach these issues with their employers. It is absolutely critical to know that you have certain rights to job-protected leave, and in some cases, you may be eligible for paid leave for a certain amount of time. Our Palm Beach Gardens employment law attorneys can tell you more.

You Have FMLA Leave Protections Under Federal Law 

Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employees in many Florida workplaces are eligible for up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period, including for the birth of a child and to provide care for a newborn within one year of the child’s birth. In order to be eligible, your employer must be covered, you have worked for your employer for at least one year, and you have worked for at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months prior to taking FMLA leave. You may need to meet additional requirements, depending on whether you are eligible as an employee of a private or public employer.

How can you know if your employer is required to comply with the FMLA? Covered employers include private employers with 50 or more employees, public employers, and schools.

Paid Leave for Certain Employees 

State employees in Florida can be eligible for expanded paid maternity and parental leave in the state. In total, a Florida state employee can be eligible for up to 7 weeks of maternity leave and 2 weeks of parental leave, which can be combined for a total of 9 weeks of paid leave after a pregnancy.

Even if you are not eligible for paid leave under the Florida law discussed above, you may be able to use sick time in order to have some or all of your pregnancy leave be paid, depending on your accrued sick time and other factors.

Protections Against Retaliation 

If you take job-protected pregnancy-related leave in Florida, your employer cannot retaliate against you. What this means is that you are protected against any adverse actions taken by your employer as a result of your request for leave or taking of leave. To learn more, you should speak with a lawyer.

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens FMLA Lawyer 

When you are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant, it is critical to have a clear understanding of your options pertaining to employment leave in Florida. If you have questions about how FMLA leave works, or your options for paid leave, our firm can assist you. We are also here to ensure that your rights under state and federal law are protected. Accordingly, if you have faced any adverse actions from your employer as a result of requesting or taking leave related to your pregnancy, you should contact an experienced Palm Beach Gardens FMLA attorney at Sconzo Law Office as soon as possible to learn more about your options.

Sources:

dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla

dol.gov/general/topic/benefits-leave/fmla#:~:text=FMLA%20applies%20to%20all%20public,with%2050%20or%20more%20employees

health.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2023-09-19/maternity-and-family-leave-are-expanded-for-floridas-state-employees