I'm in an odd situation. The bank that I work at was bought out by another bank. We were informed of the buyout in late December, about a month after I got pregnant. We were just informed a month or so ago that our jobs will be dissolved as of the date of the conversion, which is September 21st. Our baby is due August 23rd.

According to the information I have received from the new bank, Short Term Disability will cease on our last day with the bank. So, that means that I will most likely get less than 4 weeks of paid maternity leave. Is that legal?? We live in Ohio.

Whether or not your short-term disability plan will continue to pay on a claim that has already been opened is a matter of the plan documents, which you need to review. Most STD plans only cover the amount of time that you are actually physically disabled from giving births, usually four weeks for a regular delivery and six for a c-section.

There is no legal requirement to provide paid maternity leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides for 12 weeks of unpaid leave.

The amount of leave you receive, and the amount of PAID leave you receive, are not necessarily the same.

There are five states with mandatory disability benefits and only one with mandatory paid maternity leave. Ohio is none of these. Legally, you do not have a guaranteed right to ANY paid leave.