I live in IL and my employer is in NC - we have STD and FMLA available, but I don't know the order that it works...I have 23 vacation days, and STD begins on the 8th day (for maternity) and I assume I'll have 6 weeks, and if needed, can I opt to take FMLA? Help me understand which benefits kick in first (and when I can begin), for how long, and what I'm entitled to.

Thanks!

STD (which stands for Short Term Disabilty) is NOT a leave of absence program. STD is an insurance benefit that provides you with a weekly income if you are ill, injured, or pregnant and unable to work for a period of time.

FMLA (which stands for Family and Medical Leave Act) provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave if you are ill or injured and unable to work, plus a couple of other things including parental leave time.

If you are medically disabled from working, you will receive STD benefits from your employer WHILE you are on FMLA. The maxium amount of leave time you can take is 12 weeks unless your employer has chosen to have a more generous leave policy.

Because FMLA is by law unpaid leave, many employers provide STD as income replacement for the time that the employee is on FMLA leave. You are entitled to 12 weeks total of FMLA leave, not 12 weeks of FMLA on top of six weeks of STD. They run concurrently. How your STD plan pays during that time is contained in the plan documents. Many STD plans only pay for the time that a woman is physically disabled from giving birth, usually six to eight weeks.