I have worked for a small private company for 12 years. I went on maternity leave for 12 weeks after the birth of my son. During my last week of leave, I received a phone call at home from my supervisor saying that I didn't have a job to come back to. They have told me personally that it had nothing to do with me - in fact, I am well liked and have been an exemplary employee who did very good work for them. I was told that if I signed a legal document they want me to agree to, then they'd offer me 90 days of health insurance. Part of the document says that I agree not to sue them for any reason. They have also implied that there may be freelance work available in the future. I feel like I have to sign the document because I desperately need the health insurance with a new baby. I tried to apply for MICHILD, Michigans gov't sponsored insurance, but my husband makes a little too much money to qualify. His employer does not offer any health insurance, and we can't afford COBRA.

The company produces training materials for mass market. I was in charge of developing the web-based training products. They also let go the individuals in charge of the other training product lines (CD-ROM and video). They have told me that the company is just not going to be in the production end of things anymore. I was not offered another position in the company. I'm not sure what the financial status of the company is, but I know that sales were not good this past year.

Can they do this to me, and is there anything I can do regarding the health insurance? My husband had been looking for a job for months prior to my situation, but has not been having any luck. The pressure is on to find a new job in less than 90 days that offers insurance. If that doesn't happen, I don't know what we'll do about the baby.

It is not illegal if you leave did not qualify under the Federal Medical Leave Act AND, if your employer has at least 15 employees, they do not permit other employees who are on leave to extend their leave beyond 12 weeks.