I work for an architectural firm which is, oddly, predominantly female. There has never been a standardized maternity/family leave policy. The firm has less than 50 employees, so is obviously not subject to the FMLA. My question relates to maternity v. paternity leave. Can we have a maternity policy without having the same leave for fathers? They are considering giving mothers 4 weeks paid time off after the birth of the child, plus any accrued vacation time. The balance of time off is to be unpaid, and they will guarantee the mother's job up to 3 months. However, one partner is less inclined to do the same for the father - he also suggested differentiating between primary v. secondary caregivers. Can we do this? I'm extremely hesitant for obvious reasons.

You have not indicated your state.

In my state, you MUST allow the same amount of leave time for fathers as you do for mothers.

Sorry... thought by choosing the state it would indicate that I'm in New York.

You could live in NY and work in NJ, or have been born there, or something. We can't really tell from your screen name. :)

I'll have to check your state's website to be certain, but knowing how NY generally looks at such things I would be very wary of denying paternity leave.

I guess the real issue I'm having is distinguishing between medical/disability leave, which is required in New York up to 26 weeks for recovery from childbirth vs. materinity/paternity leave. Is there a way to distinguish these if the mother is out on disability? The firm is considering paying the mother for some time while she is out on disability. However, the father is obviously not out on disability.

Also, my understanding is that disability for childbirth is usually 6 weeks for natural childbirth, 8 for c-section. It seems to get sticky should we allow for UNpaid time off after that.

Well, NY law does NOT require that you provide 26 weeks of leave. That may be how long the disability plan will provide benefits, but that doesn't mean you have to hold her job for her that long. The length of time an employee is eligible for disabilty benefits is not necessarily the same length of medical leave protected under the law.

If you're going to provide paid leave for four weeks and then another two months of unpaid leave for mothers, I don't see why you shouldn't do the same thing for fathers. Obviously he's not going to be eligible for disability pay but that's not at issue.

Exactly - 26 weeks is the maximum that NY allows for STD. It is usually 6 or 8 weeks depending on the type of birth.

What I am considering recommending to the partners is to establish a disability policy - 2 weeks paid by the firm for any type of short-term disability. NYS would then (I assume) cover ther remaining 4-6 weeks (or longer if the disability is extended).

In addition to the disability policy, I'm going to recommend 2 weeks paid for parental leave, plus any accrued vacation time. Any time beyond that would be unpaid. They were discussing the possibility of guaranteeing the employee's job for up to 3 months (which so far as I know is not required since we are not subject to FMLA) but anything beyond 3 months will not be guaranteed.

It has taken me all morning to get a grip on disability leave vs. family leave. What a pain. Thank you for your help.

Sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan. Good luck!