How to get paid on parental leave
Only about 20% of Americans have access to paid family leave when they welcome a new child into their family. That statistic alone is pretty disheartening, and I could throw out a bunch more about daycare affordability, and access to postpartum care, but it’s Valentine’s Day so let’s focus on the good part—there are ways to get paid while on leave and parental leave programs in the US are getting better each year. So let’s get you paid!
Here are three ways you can get paid while you’re taking time away from work after you have a baby.
State-sponsored benefits
There are ten states and D.C., that currently offer paid family leave: California, New York, Connecticut, DC, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. The programs vary state to state, but generally they offer an insurance program just like your car or home insurance. You (or your employer) pay into it every month and when you need it, you file a claim and get cash payments to partially cover your salary while on leave.
All of the state-sponsored programs offer benefits to both parents for bonding leave ranging from four to 12 weeks, and some states also offer paid benefits through pregnancy disability insurance, which is only available to birthing parents or surrogates.
State-sponsored programs are notoriously complicated to navigate. Do your research and advocate for yourself.
Getting paid through these benefits are anything but “working the system.” You literally are paying into it if you live in one of these states so file your claim and collect your check guilt-free!
*If you live in California, and need help navigating all the paid and job–protection programs that California offers, check out my CA Parental Leave Benefits Guide. It walks you through every program, how and when to apply, and how they all work together so you maximize your pay and time off.
“State-sponsored programs are notoriously complicated to navigate. Do your research and advocate for yourself. ”
2. Employer-sponsored benefits
About 40% of US-based employers offer some version of parental leave. Every employer is different so ask for your employer’s parental leave policy in writing. Many only offer paid leave to birthing parents and most don’t offer more than six or eight weeks of paid leave though I’ve seen plenty of programs that offer 6-12 weeks of fully paid leave to parents of all genders. Take this into consideration next time you’re job searching even if you don’t plan to have more children—it’s a great indicator of how family-friendly the workplace is.
You might also have the option to take paid leave using your PTO or sick time. This is a great option for new parents that have a bank of PTO time to use, but make sure you still have some left over once you go back to work because chances are high you’ll need to take time off when you or your baby are sick.
3. Short-term disability.
SDI or STD is insurance also just like your car or home insurance that you pay into over time and can file a claim when you lose wages at work due to a disability, like pregnancy or giving birth, and is often offered as part of your employer’s benefits package. Generally, you have to opt in to receive it so make sure you do before you’re pregnant because many SDI programs consider pregnancy to be a pre-existing condition, disqualifying pregnant people from signing up for coverage.
Some employers claim to offer paid parental or maternity leave, however, only offer payments through SDI so make sure you sign up if this is the case for your employer.
