Comments on: Mandatory paid sick leave: Sure thing? Or bad bet?

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:23:27 +0000

Jon- my thoughts exactly.

By: Jon

Jon — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:17:34 +0000

Having a child can be a wonderful thing, and so is having a Porsche. Can we have an employer or government program for that for us singles out in the world? It’s only fair, Oh and 3 months off to drive around in it, paid of course.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:54:19 +0000

I’m not an expert, but wouldn’t providing paid maternity leave be discriminatory? I believe that’s why FMLA was established. I know it’s not paid leave, but why should your employer pay you to have a baby? Your employere is paying you to do a job and if you are on “maternity leave”, you are not doing the jopb for which you were hired.

I agree that our government spends money like a drunken sailor, but remember that government has no money that they haven’t taken from its citizens through taxes.

By: Cheri

Cheri — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:44:36 +0000

I am in Human Resources and two years ago I had to go on Maternity leave. This was not a planned pregnancy. I had to take off early due to complications. Luckily my company offered Short Term Disability as a supplemental insurance. (Which I paid 100% for) I think that companies should provide paid maternity leave. A lot of employers do not have supplemental insurance and in these times, women can’t afford to take time off. This endangers their health and their job when they go back to work too soon. I can see where a company would not want to pay a new employee to be off work for 3 months but maybe the law should be after an employee has been with a company for a year, they get paid maternity leave. I think it should definitely be law, but they should keep the employer in mind as well when making it. Actually, it should probably be a government funded law. Just like the new Cobra ARRA law.

For all you who think it is the parents resposiblity only: You know, having children is a natural circle of life. If everyone stopped having children, there would be no employees, there would be no employers, there would be no politicians and there would be no government. In essence there would be no future of life. So why shouldn’t the government take some of the responsiblity? They are more than happy to throw money at every other country in the world, I think it is about time they started taking care of their own.

By: Private

Private — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:31:45 +0000

Interesting Article. Thanks for the read!

By: potties

potties — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:34:21 +0000

appreciate the info thank you, Liz

By: Maitane

Maitane — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:29:00 +0000

haha ^^ nice, is there a section to follow the RSS feed

By: S.L.

S.L. — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:59:11 +0000

Andy,
It all sounds rosy from your point of view when you don’t know the whole story. I had to go through hoops for the employer to give me the short term disability because I was warned that if I took another paid sick day off (even with physican’s orders) I was going to be written up for excessive absences. I was a loyal, respected and high-performing employee…. until I got pregnant.

Prior to the disability leave, I had taken 2 days off on ordered bed rest and used and estimated 10 vacation hours for check-ups. I had to write a note and leave it on my desk every time I went to the restroom! The day I returned from maternity leave, management and HR slid a warning slip to me in front of other employees saying that I was being written up for excessive absences and they moved me into a lower position. I kept my mouth shut and refused to sign every warning they slid to me. The entire workplace treated me like dirt. But thank goodness I had the common sense to fight them by filing a complaint with EEOC and my lawyer. I had every note I had to write for going to the restroom, documented verbal abuses, and every phone call documented while I was on maternity leave. Two weeks later I was back in my correct position and all warnings were dropped.

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:18:52 +0000

S.L.

Your case is the perfect example of why the government should not mandate paid leave. In your case it sounds like the employer made a good decision by allowing you paid leave in the form of short term disability. The key is the employer got to decide what was best for himself and the employee. I am sure you are a more loyal employee as a result of his actions. The employer on the other hand gained goodwill from you and other employees that far exceeds the cost of your leave. However, if the employer decided it was not in the company’s best interest for whatever reasons, he could have decided to decline the leave as well. When there are options, more times than not, good things will happen.

By: S.L.

S.L. — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:42:33 +0000

Jon, I had to go on short-term disability for premature labor before the “planned” maternity leave. Would you consider the employer approving the short-term disability as a handout or would you have preferred me to be denied this extra paid time off to safeguard the employer’s bottom line? What about the sick days I had to take off due to well-baby and well-mother check-ups?