I'll try to be as succint as possible.

I'm three weeks from my due date. Was planning on working until I basically gave birth. I have very little sick/ vacation time saved (will probably be about a week once I get ready for leave)

I have been reading numerous threads on here learning about CA maternity leave options. I understand about using SD and PFL... I get that I can take 6 weeks off with job security and then another 6 weeks off without job security.

Here are my "special" situation issues however:

1. I do not qualify for the FMLA at this time. I have worked for my current company for 10 months and when I leave to give birth to the baby I will have about 50 days to go before I would qualify for the FMLA. (We have a very large firm, over 70 employees etc)

2. I work for a company that doesn't pay in to State disability. However, for the first half of last year (January 06 - June 07) I worked for a company that DID pay into State Disability.

3. I spoke to my supervisor months ago about my potential leave. I let her know that I was planning on taking 10 weeks of leave, and that I would be returning and want to speak more about a possible "part time" work schedule for a few more weeks after that. She wrote it down in her planner and said everything sounded fine. I then met with my HR person who seemed to think that I would qualify for FMLA (I worked over 1250 hours in my 10 months etc) and told me that I could take "12 weeks of unpaid leave, no problem". When I went back to my supervisor last week with my final proposal she said "wow, 10 weeks of unpaid leave is a long time. I migth have to 'float' this idea to 'people' and see how they feel about it." She then went on vacation for this entire week. (I won't get in to the personal issues that are happening between me and the bosses here, nor that I have been told by others that I am the only person who has been held to this standard for leave, everyone else is approved. THere have been four or five employees in the last few years who have done their maternity leave for 12 weeks, no issues. Others who took up to 5 months.) So now I'm trying to cover all my bases for what I CAN get.

Here is the main question:

I know I can get 6 weeks of leave (disability) with job protection.
I know they can require me to take my vacation (which would be one week that i have saved)

Beyond that I am wondering. If I agree to take only the 6 weeks (which I would do so in protest, considering it just seems SO YOUNG to leave the baby girl behind) and then come back to work... could I work my 50 days required to qualify for FMLA and THEN take FMLA leave for 12 weeks? (Since I now qualified). Or could I then use FMLA to work a part time schedule after working my 50 days?

Are there any other options for "guaranteed leave" away from work that I should know about?

Would I have any standing in the fact that I have worked OVER the 1250 hours in the months that I have worked for this company?

I'm just trying to get as much information as I can before they call me in for my big meeting to find out "what we think about your leave."

Thank you

SDI taxes are not withheld from your check? What type of employer is this? Employers CAN, under certain circumstances, opt out of SDI IF they provide a voluntary plan. I think it's also possible (though I'm not certain) that governments may also opt out.

The hours you've worked so far are irrelevant. It's not FMLA leave unless you've met the length of employment criteria as well as the hours requirement.

I would rather not say who/what I work for (just in case) but I have checked and there are no SDI taxes witheld from our checks due to the kind of organization that I work for...

Then guess I can't tell you that that's allowed or not. :( I'm not asking the NAME of the employer. I'm just asking for the TYPE of employer. State or municipal government, state university or college, non-profit?

It's the federal government.

Ah, OK. Let me do some checking when I get out of my 3:30 meeting and I'll post back in the morning, if no one else has responded by then.

My understanding is that Federal employees are not covered by CA employment laws. That would explain the lack of SDI withholdings and the concern with FMLA eligibility. I might be drawing a blank, but I cannot think of how you would be eligible for 6 weeks of protected leave. Maybe it is a policy for the company you work for? Regardless, it seems to me like some of the HR people misspoke and you are not eligible for any SDI or FMLA.