Adoption Maternity Leave: What You Need To Know

Adoption maternity leave is a really hot topic right now, thanks in part to a huge mistake that one popoular baby clothing company made with one of its employees. One of their employees asked to go on maternity leave just shy of a year. She was adopting a baby who was sick in the NICU. This company unfortunately did not grant that ability to go on maternity leave early. The company instead demanded that she return to the office within two weeks or she would no longer have her position. 

I wish I could tell you that this was the first time that an adoptive parent was discriminated against when it came to family medical leave. Unfortunately this is something that many of us in our community face on a very regular basis. 

Since I have first hand experience taking maternity leave a couple of times myself and helping countless clients take maternity leave as well, I thought I should break down some things that you need to be researching and considering so that you're not caught in a bad spot when it comes time to take your maternity leave. 

So we're going to talk about what your rights are and about questions that you need to be asking your company right now as you prepare for the happiest time in your life.

The very first thing that you need to know is that you do have a right to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Once you have been employed with a company for 12 months, all types of adoptions apply under the Family Medical Leave Act. Once you've been an employee for 12 months you are eligible for what's called job protection status. That means that you will have a job to come back to. That does not mean that they are going to pay you for that leave. Paying you is actually not mandated under the law. 

Now, I'm not an attorney, so you should always consult one. But this is consistent with my experiences, as well as with some of my clients experiences as well. 

At this point you’re likely having this panic moment of, “what do I do if I don't have any sort of paid maternity leave?”

This is when you want to get a clear understanding of the HR policies of your company. 

Here are a few key questions to ask as you review your company’s HR policies.

Is there any sort of standardized leave approach for adoption?

Many companies will recognize adoption leave the same as paternity leave. But some companies still do have policies that differentiate between them. Oftentimes, adoption is considered under paternity leave policies, because there's no physical recovery to be made from a medical perspective in order to be seen as care. Now, that's not congruent with my own personal beliefs as it relates to bonding care. That is typically how most companies cover it. So that's the first question I would ask is, is it covered? 

What are the benefits as it relates to that?

And if it is covered, what are the benefits as it relates to that? Once you've established that baseline then you have a good understanding of where you potentially want to ask questions to poke holes in their policies or potential negotiation points that you would want to approach them with at a later time in this process.

What is paid and what is not paid?

The next thing you want to get clarity on is what is paid and what is not paid. You need a real clear understanding of what you're looking at from a financial perspective. Then you want to get clear on how many weeks off do you want to have in your adoption journey. So maybe you want to have 20 weeks of paid time off with your child. Maybe your company only provides four weeks, six weeks, etc. You want to understand and identify the delta between the two, because that will become your negotiation ground. 

Can you extend your paid time off by using vacation time?

The next really important question to ask is can you extend your paid time off by using vacation time. Some companies do allow this, especially when there is an unpaid portion of your maternity leave. Some companies don't. You want to make sure you understand that before you approach that negotiation table. 

What happens if the adoption disrupts?

The final question that you want to have clarity on before you walk away from that initial information session with your HR partner is what happens if this adoption disrupts. So let me give you a real life example from my own life. We had the opportunity to adopt a child. We parented her for 10 days. Then the birth family decided that they wanted to parent this child. We were then required to turn this child back over to the birth parents and we had to leave and come home without a baby. Now, if I had begun my maternity leave at the beginning of those 10 days, I actually would not have been eligible for a maternity leave for a full calendar year. 

So if your company allows you to extend your maternity leave by taking vacation, I would actually hold off on starting your maternity leave until you make it through the revocation period. That is the period in which the birth family has to change their mind. Otherwise, you could put yourself at jeopardy of not being granted maternity leave when you got another adoption opportunity, which could put a serious impact into your finances. 

If you have more questions about this or want to brainstorm how to approach your company's adoption maternity leave program, I would be happy to help you. Contact me on Instagram or at myadoptioncoach.com and let's brainstorm. If you're hoping to adopt a baby this year, check out this video where I will walk you through the most efficient and effective process to bring home your baby this year.