At the beginning of my wife's pregnancy, she was hospitalized and out of work for around two months. During this time she received short term disability. She has now been out of work for a litte under 5 weeks with FMLA after having the baby (C-section delivery). The company is trying to tell her that her time is up for FMLA and she will lose her health benefits if she does not return to work next week (week 6). They say short term disability and FMLA time runs concurrently.
It is my understanding that STD and FMLA are completely seperate and they cannot pull our health coverage. Is this correct?

At the beginning of my wife's pregnancy, she was hospitalized and out of work for around two months. During this time she received short term disability. She has now been out of work for a litte under 5 weeks with FMLA after having the baby (C-section delivery). The company is trying to tell her that her time is up for FMLA and she will lose her health benefits if she does not return to work next week (week 6). They say short term disability and FMLA time runs concurrently.
It is my understanding that STD and FMLA are completely seperate and they cannot pull our health coverage. Is this correct?

An eligible employee is entitled to a total of 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period. If the employee has to use some of that leave for another reason, including a difficult pregnancy, it may be counted as part of the 12-week FMLA leave entitlement.

Please visit this site for in-depth info and contact your Dept. of Labor for specific answers on your situation.
http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/fmla/faq.asp

Thanks for the link.
According to the site, the employer must notify the employee in writing that FMLA leave is being accrued when out on STD. She was notified that STD was being used, not FMLA. It would appear they are trying to tie the FMLA retroactively to the STD. The employer was aware of the reason for STD, and according to the site, can only retro the time if they were unaware of the reason for leave. In this situation, do we have a case for continued FMLA leave?

Good question. Was your wife ever notified in writing on the beginning date of her FMLA? I think that will be the determining factor.

As you read, FMLA has very strict notification requirements. If she feels her rights are being violated, she can file a claim with the Department of Labor. (The complaint process is listed on the same website.)

Her employer will be required to prove that notification was received on a timely basis. Without that proof, the DOL will probably say that proper notification was not given.

Also, one other point....FMLA is for up to 12 weeks during a year, with that year being a calendar year, a fiscal year, a set year or a rolling 12 month period. If she had FMLA leave earlier in the year, her allowance for time under this leave would be reduced.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

The Family and Medical Leave Act allows for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per 12 month period, which includes circumstances such as birth or adoption of a child.

Whether or not your wife has received short-term disability coverage in the preceding 12 months is irrelevant unless she is notified in writing that is concurrent; she is still entitled to the full 12 weeks according to the law (see below).

Also, since she is still an employee (even if it is unpaid), there is no justification to discontinue health coverage after only 6 weeks.

A note about FMLA: it only applies if your company employs 50 or more employees, etc, etc. I assume that your wife works for a large company?