I work at a vet clinic and I'm due in Feb. I will not have worked there for 12 months before I go and I only make 7 dollars an hour and cannot afford to take alot of time off anyways but do I get any at all since I will not have worked 1250 hours? I'm very concerned there has been alot of negativity at my workplace over this.Is there some sort of goverment paid leave I can apply for?:confused:

That's not really a question of employment law. Arizona is not one of the five states that provides or mandates disability coverage. Since you have not worked there for 12 months and have not worked 1,250 hours you are not eligible for FMLA, but even if you were, FMLA is UNPAID leave.

You're free to check with your state's medicaid or welfare offices for any programs you may qualify for.

In response to your question of whether you can get any leave at all, if your employer has 15 or more employees, you can get the same amount of leave as anyone else with a temporary medical situation. So, if your employer has allowed an employee to take two weeks off to recover from surgery or a car accident and hasn't fired him/her, then your employer needs to give you that much time off. But this is entirely separate from the issue of pay.

--Cynthia
www.worklifelaw.org

**The foregoing is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.**