- Jurisdiction
- Oregon
It's been the general understanding amongst myself, my coworkers and my superiors that our company's maternity leave policy is 11 weeks at a variable rate.
I'm currently 2 weeks postpartum. Just last week I submitted my claim to the company that handles our company's maternity leave claims.
I was told that I was eligible for 6 weeks of paid leave with a 2 weeks waiting period. According to them I'm only going to be paid for 4 weeks.
I was livid. Imagine how you'd feel with a 2 week old in your arms and just now finding out the news that you won't be receiving the full amount of your benefit?
I reached out to our VP (we don't have HR) and told her about my situation. She mentioned that she too thought our policy guaranteed 11 weeks.
The next day she responded with a PDF of the policy, stating that employees are only eligible for up to 11 weeks and that the company provides up to 6 weeks. Meanwhile, the state can take up the remainder, only if they offer paid parental leave to state residents...
Again, I was livid. In her direct response to me she states, (and I paraphrase) "I thought it was 11 weeks too...let me check...oh wait looks like it's not...oh well...sorry"
There was no direct communication from her or anyone else about the specifics of the policy. Myself, other employees, and superiors above me understood that we all were supposed to receive 11 weeks total of leave.
There's currently even another pregnant employee (30 weeks), who thought we were all supposed to receive 11 weeks.
My supervisor recommended that I submit a formal complaint against her to the CEO of the company. He responded with (and again, I paraphrase...) "she sent you the official document two months ago that explains your benefit , so legally I'm covered and she's covered. We will not be covering the remainder"
Meanwhile the document was only sent as an attachment, was not explained in the email, and again, was understood by myself and others that we should be receiving 11 weeks. I didn't feel the need to check the document at the time because I didn't think there was any reason to.
I even continued to communicate with the VP, telling her how much leave I was planning on taking (13 weeks total) without any questions from her or anyone else as to the amount of leave I was taking. Even on the date that I followed up with her (at 1 week postpartum, mind you), to her understanding the policy was 11 weeks.
The CEO of our company has admitted nothing wrong, says that he's covered because of what's stated in the "document" and hasn't even apologized for the miscommunication.
Why am I being punished for their error?
What legal case do I have against them, if any?
My coworkers and supervisors are as mad as I am. If we organized a strike/walkout across the company, would we have any legal protections?
Looking for any and all insight. We don't have an internal HR department so this makes dealing with issues like these pretty difficult.
I'm currently 2 weeks postpartum. Just last week I submitted my claim to the company that handles our company's maternity leave claims.
I was told that I was eligible for 6 weeks of paid leave with a 2 weeks waiting period. According to them I'm only going to be paid for 4 weeks.
I was livid. Imagine how you'd feel with a 2 week old in your arms and just now finding out the news that you won't be receiving the full amount of your benefit?
I reached out to our VP (we don't have HR) and told her about my situation. She mentioned that she too thought our policy guaranteed 11 weeks.
The next day she responded with a PDF of the policy, stating that employees are only eligible for up to 11 weeks and that the company provides up to 6 weeks. Meanwhile, the state can take up the remainder, only if they offer paid parental leave to state residents...
Again, I was livid. In her direct response to me she states, (and I paraphrase) "I thought it was 11 weeks too...let me check...oh wait looks like it's not...oh well...sorry"
There was no direct communication from her or anyone else about the specifics of the policy. Myself, other employees, and superiors above me understood that we all were supposed to receive 11 weeks total of leave.
There's currently even another pregnant employee (30 weeks), who thought we were all supposed to receive 11 weeks.
My supervisor recommended that I submit a formal complaint against her to the CEO of the company. He responded with (and again, I paraphrase...) "she sent you the official document two months ago that explains your benefit , so legally I'm covered and she's covered. We will not be covering the remainder"
Meanwhile the document was only sent as an attachment, was not explained in the email, and again, was understood by myself and others that we should be receiving 11 weeks. I didn't feel the need to check the document at the time because I didn't think there was any reason to.
I even continued to communicate with the VP, telling her how much leave I was planning on taking (13 weeks total) without any questions from her or anyone else as to the amount of leave I was taking. Even on the date that I followed up with her (at 1 week postpartum, mind you), to her understanding the policy was 11 weeks.
The CEO of our company has admitted nothing wrong, says that he's covered because of what's stated in the "document" and hasn't even apologized for the miscommunication.
Why am I being punished for their error?
What legal case do I have against them, if any?
My coworkers and supervisors are as mad as I am. If we organized a strike/walkout across the company, would we have any legal protections?
Looking for any and all insight. We don't have an internal HR department so this makes dealing with issues like these pretty difficult.
