I've been teaching for 18 years and have been steadily accruing sick leave hours the whole time.
First let me give you the technical info. We teachers have a contract that pays us to work 6 1/2 hours a day (we actually work much more, but that is another post). I have about 550 hours (paid) accrued sick leave so far, which is 84 days, which actually means 16 weeks, which is about 4 months. I can use this sick leave any time I want, but after 2 days in a row I have to have a doctor's note.
So, on and off for the past 12 years I have been trying to get pregnant and I have been saving this time religiously to use for maternity leave and in case the baby were to get sick. I very rarely took a day off, even when I was sick. I even went to school with Pneumonia. I actually don't like to be gone because it's harder to plan for a substiture, there are always problems to deal with when I return, the kids don't like having subs all the time and I love to be there.
Secondly, let me say that I have had a very low opinion of those teachers who ARE out all the time. Why? Because...
1. Parents have a right to expect the teacher to be there.
2. The children learn best when there is one consistent person they can get to know and depend on.
3. Not all, but most substitutes don't even know what end is up. (They don't even have to have had any teaching experience. I have a list of 2 or 3 substitutes that I request all the time because I know they have experience, can follow the plans and won't let the kids get away with anything. NOTE: If you are a "good" substitute, THANK YOU, but in my experience most are not.)
However, my opinion on this matter is now changing. Want to know why...keep reading....
Now, it's 2008 and I called the HR office to find out how I sign up to take my maternity leave. They informed me that our school district doesn't really give maternity leave. They allow mothers to take (paid) sick leave to recover from delivering the baby and since I am adopting and not recovering from anything, I cannot use any of my sick leave. The FAMILY LEAVE ACT allows me to take all the UNPAID leave I want.
I feel I have acted in good faith all these years, this sick leave is mine and now I'm being screwed. I have earned it. I should be able to use it any way I see fit and if it runs out then that is my problem.
Our school district used to buy back the sick leave from us at a rate of 10%, now they won't even do that. When we retire we lose all the accrued sick leave pay that we haven't used.
So, now I have to add about $3000 more to the adoption costs so that I can stay home for four to six weeks and my bills will still get paid.
I am also determined that by the time I do retire, there will not be ONE SINGLE hour left of sick leave. Any time I am feeling the least bit "under the weather," have an appointment, have a hang nail, need to get my hair cut, or the day ends in the word "day," I'm going to call in sick. This is the only way I have to fight back.
Being an institution that cares for the well-being and education of children, I would think that the rules would be designed in the best interest of families and their children also. All newborns need time to bond with their parents and especially an adopted infant.
I have learned that although the FAMILY LEAVE ACT is a great idea, in principal, the employer can manipulate the act to a point where it really doesn't benefit the person taking the leave.
Looking on the bright side....at least I get my job back after my leave....yah.....I guess....oh wait...cough...sniff...cough..
hmm...am I coming down with something....hmmmm?!?
11 comments:
Oh wow! I though it was a law. Can't your union do anything to help? What's in the contract?
Yep. This happened to me, too. It SUCKED!! I wrote letters, talked to the head of HR, shouted from the rooftops, stomped my feet, well, you get the picture. It was all to no avail.
You might check and see if y'all get any kind of adoption subsidy. Of course, I had to go back to work at least part-time in order to get mine, but it ended up being a God-thing, so it worked out for us.
Unfortunately there are many things that are still not "equal" for adoptive parents. This is one of them.
I feel your pain. I really do.
My mom was a schoolteacher for 20years before retiring and she definitely worked more than what she was paid for. She put in tons of hours after school, home at nights/weekends etc...she now subs and she is one or the most requested subs because she actually expects the students to learn when she is there and follows the outline and is just not there to babysit like other subs are.
I hear your groans about the FMLA. Same thing with the airline. I hardly ever call in sick. I could call in sick for over 4 months and still be covered. i was saving all of this for after we had our baby. Well, same as you I only qualify for the FMLA. It is basically because during "normal" maternity leave the mom is being paid by the insurance company and not actually the airline...so adoptive parents and male flight attendants qualify for FMLA only since they did not actually give birth. If I was approved maternity leave then they would also have to give it to men paternity leave...it all comes down to $$$$. Flight attendants that give birth are actually categorized as disabled and that is how they are paid their maternity leave. ARGH!! I will be taking my FMLA and then I may just call in sick for a month or so here and there...I could write a letter to our CEO but I am afraid it would all fall on deaf ears.
How utterly frustrating! This is the bane of working life...you give and give and give and then when you need a little back you can forget about it. I'm sorry things aren't quite working out how you had planned...your cough does sound pretty bad, better stay home and get some R&R!!
Good luck figuring it all out...one day at a time!
Melba
Oh my word. That's ridiculous! I can't believe they can do that to you. I'm so sorry...especially after faithfully accruing all of those hours for a specific purpose. Wow.
I taught full time before staying home after adopting our son. My leave with him was over 8 yrs. ago so, hard to remember the details. I was off from the end of October until after the Christmas holidays. I believe that I was paid for my sick time while on FMLA and then once it ran out, I had to pay half of my subs pay. Never mind that women who birthed their children did not have to pay any of their sub's pay!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do remember that angering me and my fellow coworkers.
I agree with all the reasons you give for why a teacher should have good attendance but at the same time, it is your earned time and if you will get no reward for it in the end, you should use it!
I guess you checked and you're sure you can't use it under FMLA and get paid for it?? That just doesn't sound right.? I'm sure I must have. It's not up to the individual employer, is it?
Does sound illegal to not pay you for your time.
Know an attorney that can advise you no charge?!
I can understand your shock and disgust! I too found out that I don't get paid for maternity leave while bonding with our future child. They used the "its not a disability" thing, which really frustrates me, because my uterus is CLEARLY disabled. Haha. My company does offer adoption assistance, but I am pretty sure I am going to quit once we get placed and you have to be an employee when the adoption in finalized in order to get it. So, no benefits for me!
How does your sick leave work if you are caring for your child when he/she is sick? The bright side could be that you will get to stay home with your sick baby a lot! :)
Wow, Tracey. That's awful. I think you should take all the time you can! Even if you have to cut a few corners.
I don't often say this, but maybe this is one thing Canada does right (the vast majority of the time America does it right). We have paid maternity leave for a year after the birth or adoption of a baby. It doesn't matter which. The company has to give you a year. I didn't even know this was an issue in the U.S. Wow. Just wow.
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Whaaaat? That is ridiculous! I think you should be sick for several weeks at once. Perhaps several weeks that just happen to coincide with the adoption...
That stinks. Prayers being said for this situation.
(Sorry for being MIA on your blog for a few weeks.)
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