I am afraid to take maternity leave due to what happened last time I did: Advice?

I’ve been working for the same small company since 2012. In 2019 when I had my second child, I took the Paid Family Leave Act for NY while I was out on maternity. When I went to return to work my boss would not give me my full job back. I did two separate jobs for him with two separate payments. He told me he gave one of my jobs to someone else and felt bad taking it away from them, so it was no longer available (I was doing two jobs for a few years before I took maternity). So I said if I cannot get my entire job back as it was that I wasn’t able to come back. I then took unemployment for a few months until I found a new job. After a couple of months at this new job, my old boss asked me to come back. He only offered me the one job back and not both, but it was more money than I was currently making but a lot less than having both jobs for him in the past. I took it and went back to him. Fast forward, I am pregnant again now and due in the fall. I am absolutely miserable working at this company as he has taken away holidays, our profit-sharing program, and has promised me a raise for years and every excuse not to give it to me. I’m extremely underpaid and make less than newer employees who have the same title. He completely takes advantage of me. I’m nervous about going on maternity again even though this time I only do one job for him now. He was wondering how I should handle the situation? Part of me wants to file a case about what he did to me last time, but I guess that’s so far behind me, and it wouldn’t work out anyways. How should I handle my maternity this time around? (The only reason I work for him is that he offered me to work half in the office and half at home, and I have 2 young children. He uses the fact that I work part-time from home to treat me badly).

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You’re having a baby either way
Sooooo have the baby… take paid leave and deal with what happens!
If he screws you … HIRE a lawyer and deal with it! Trust that somehow it will work out fir you…

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. I am afraid to take maternity leave due to what happened last time I did: Advice?

I would take maternity leave and not come back, find a job that values you better. I’m sure this is causing you unnecessary stress.

Fmla should have been filled out as it protects your job while your on maternity leave and they couldn’t give your job away or fire you.

Girl do you get paid maternity?

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I’d talk to a lawyer and tell
Them everything that company has done to you. That’s a good case right there. I’m not sure about the laws where you live but the state I live in an employer is required to give you your original job back once you return from a leave.

If you do, take it in the meantime start looking for an other job don’t let yourself be used!!!

If you have fmla they have to offer you your full time hours back whether or not it’s a different shift

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I would talk to an attorney for advice on this.

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I would take the opportunity to seek a new job after maternity if your getting paid for it. If your not getting paid for maternity then I’d start looking now.

They are not supposed to take your job away as you were protected under the maternity leave. I would definitely speak to someone.

Wow in Australia if you have maternity leave they absolutely can not give your job away. They can hire someone to cover it while you’re out. And any full time job gets four weeks a year holiday and you can accumulate it over the years as well

I personally think you are above and better and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect if your boss doesn’t see that then your better off cutting ties and finding a job that appreciate you,start keep records/ or paper trail of everything he does or promised as stated in comments talk a attorney…

I would take fmla and never go back. You do not deserve to be treated less than because I can assure you he would throw a fit if you treated him that way.

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I would definitely hire a lawyer and sue his ass. You can definitely sue him for the past as well you would be building your case from the beginning anyways. I would not tolerate that kind of behavior.

Fmla holds your job, not necessarily the same position. You could always check around for a new job while on leave. Also, some states will let you collect unemployment if the job is not what it was suppose to be.

Go on leave and find a new job.

If you were using fml your job(s) should of been protected and given back to you when you returned…I would talk with a lawyer or to HR…

Jobs are everywhere right now use the maternity leave to find another job, your boss sounds horrible! And you deserve so much better!

Who is the smart one in this situation :thinking:

Make sure if he says u can get your job back hve it in wrighting

I will never understand why anybody stays in a job they’re miserable working at.

Go to a lawyer you have rights as an employee and shouldn’t feel intimidated or be made a fool of. Employee’s have rights and threaten him with that. He’s taking advantage of your personality knowing he can get away with this. No different to all these high profile cases with famous people. Just wrong in every sense. Be strong x

Take your leave and look for a new job while away then once you have new job tell him to stick his were the sun dont shine and seek legal advice to recoup your list wages.

By law he has to give you your old job back, exactly how it was, regardless, or you can sue.

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Dont take the maternity leave…quit. You should never settle for less than your worth period!

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He sounds like an asshole, you should take your maternity leave and look for a different job in the meantime. Even if you make less at another job, it sounds better than what you currently have. You shouldn’t be making less than new employees, that’s ridiculous.

While on maternity leave fine another job.

It’s time to go…walk away… and stay away!!!

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I’d leave and find a new job.

Find a different company, life moves on.

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I would use your time before the baby to put out feelers and start looking.

I thought they can’t take it job away I would talk to a lawyer

I worked for a small company who also did a lot of the things your boss did to you, I never had an issue with my maternity leave however there were other issues that I was unhappy with. I would not leave because I thought no other job was going to be as flexible with me as I am a mother of 4. I grew tired of it all I looked for another job!
Leaving that job was the best thing I could have done for me and my family.
P.S. When I left one of my bosses said that I would never have a better job - as understanding as they were with me… Boy was he wrong!!!

Take the maternity leave and find a new job while you’re out. I wouldn’t go back there even if he did give you everything back.

Being on FMLA I believe protects your job, they can’t fire you or cut your pay. If they have to fill your position while you’re out it should be on a temp basis but obviously he’s being a jacka$$ however they do have to put you in a position comparable to your previous position with equal pay. FMLA is a Federal government law so I believe it’s pretty much the same in all states.

Take maternity buy then don’t go back quit when your due to go back. Give you plenty of time to find a new job

Girl I’m going through this same thing. In Washington state where I live if you work for an employer that has 40 or less employees they don’t have to keep your position. Im super scared to say anything.

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You take the maternity leave but in that time find a new job as well! Problem solved and you get paid while looking for a new one. :+1: That’s a win win in my book. :laughing:

Go ahead and take your maternity leave and be working on lining up a new job. Good jobs are plentiful everywhere.

Take maternity leave with the pay! Have your resume ready and send them out in your way to the hospital! This way when maternity leave is over you can start a new job!! You probably won’t have a lawsuit since you went back but this will definitely give him a big f you!! You are allowing this to happen and until you take control it won’t stop!

Never should anyone put up with some egotistic boss. Not with the jobs available today
Thats abusive how he is treating you. Rather than quit,.put in for the maternity leave and if he gives you crap? Leave.

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If I was you I would take maternity leave, look for a new job to start when maternity is over and leave him. That’s what I would do but I’m in the UK, don’t know how it works with you.

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. I am afraid to take maternity leave due to what happened last time I did: Advice?

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Find a different job

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Totally look for a different job!

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Get a new job. It’s not worth the stress.

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NO EXCUSES for unfair treatment .

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Take maternity leave and use it to find a new job

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Take the maternity leave and use that time to look for a better job.

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I would take maternity leave and if he pulls the same stuff again call a lawyer

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This shouldn’t be an issue. Take care of your kids, plenty of jobs out there. Don’t take his sh*t

Doesn’t fmla make sure you get your same job back?

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You have been working there since 2012 and did not like it l. You even left and came back even when you would not get both jobs back. He takes advantage of you because you allowed it. You should have demanded both jobs and more money to come back. Do not allow it to happen any more.

By law they MUST give you back your same job. That’s part of the family leave act.

Get an attorney, tell him why you need him just in case your boss pulls the same crap. He wasn’t in the right to do that. You might still be able to file that one if you haven’t gone past the statute of limitations. I believe it’s 2 years. Might want to check on that. Don’t let him do that to you a second time. He is very wrong for that.

First off if you are on paid medical leave your job is protected and they have give it back to you when you returned. You should have contacted the NY workers commission. FMLA Is a law that protects your job. Take FMLA again and if the same thing happens you need to file a claim with the NY workers commission. You may even have grounds for a suit if it happens again. But since you left last time you cant do anything about that. If you take longer than 12 weeks then you are not protected.

Contact someone who knows maternity laws.

I went on maternity leave and my first break back at 10 o’clock I went and interviewed for another job which I got. I HATED my old job and they HATED me.

Good luck to you.

I’m pretty sure what happened to you is illegal

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I would start applying for new jobs. Take the paid maternity leave, and then don’t go back. Have a new job set up to start when your maternity leave ends.

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Take your maternity leave & have a lawyer on call

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You can’t file a claim for him not holding your full time position. it’s not illegal; he doesn’t have to since he did allow you to have the maternity leave and it was in the best interest of the company to find someone to replace you because you were out so that claim won’t withstand. In the state of NY they’re not liable to withhold you’re position especially if it’s in the interest of the company. things need to keep in motion and flowing they did allow you to come back and we’re flexible to you to a certain extend I understand it wasn’t what you were expecting but it’s happened a lot more than you think. Use your maternity leave to find a different job you deserve better so do your kids :two_hearts:

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Your babies are only babies once, take the leave and find a new job. Good luck sorry that he has created this situation for you :pensive:

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After researching the Paid Family Leave Act of NY, it appears that your boss had to give you back your old job or a comparable job with comparable benefits and pay. You could have filed against him for discrimination and retaliation.

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Everyone is hiring. Get. New job

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Take your maternity then find a different job. Nonsense working for a man like that.

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Just take leave and then get another job and tell him too f off !!!

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Take the maternity leave write up a paper for him to sign stating you will be leaving on this date and retuning on this date with same full time hours. If he doesn’t sign just make a copy and put it in your file. The day he refuses to bring you back at your full time hours is the day you lawyer up call legal aide/labor board for assistance. Good luck and congratulations on your soon to be bundle of Joy

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Try birth control, then you won’t be in this situation again! Where is the baby daddy? Or don’t you know who he is?

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Sounds like you’re unhappy there anyway. When it comes time, take your maternity leave and in the mean time look for a new job. You’re already taking on more responsibility at home, no need to be stressed out because of work. Best wishes.

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Take leave find new job I’d check on law in your state in state I’m in employee only has to give you a job/position doesn’t have to be same job as you had before leave

Call the Dept. Of Labor and the EEOC. They can tell you what the law is for your state. Find out if your job has anything posted in the office that gives you info on if there is an ombudsman that you can talk with. Do this ASAP so you know what you’re entitled to before you take FMLA.

Maternity leave protects your employment and allows you to come back to a job. The company has to hire someone to work the position you were in and doesn’t deserve to lose a job because you return. As long as the company provides you a position to come back to they aren’t doing anything wrong.

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It is good to always read the fine prints as far as employment policy goes

Find a new job and move on…he is not looking out for his employees. There are plenty of opportunities out there.

In Texas if it’s a small enough company/ business then no FMLA is available. I was to be off 12 weeks due extreme blood loss. I was called in non stop to help the staff catch up. I got paid for my time there but no paid maternity leave plus I had to use up all my PTO on emergency room visits when I was pregnant. Thankfully though I was allowed to bring my daughter in when I was called in to help, I could work at my own pace, and still had my job.unfortunately what you went through and what your scared about comes with working for small businesses. I wouldn’t stress. Just keep working, what happens happens. If he does it again, leave and never look back

At least contact someone about the unequal pay, you might get backpay. Here in Florida it’s called the Commission on Human Relations and you file a report online, not sure what it would be there but you can probably call an employment law attorney and they can tell you. And then look for a new job.

You need to just find a completely new job. That’s very unfair of him

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Job hunt during your maternity leave. Life is too short to work under these conditions.

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Call the CEO of the joband ask them why your boss wont let you leave for maturnity and if they wont ask or findout that boss may be your sexual allegation to sue the boss n everyone in that corporation. Just do the right thing and do you maturnity leave , the heck with bosshog , nothings to important then bringing a child who didnt ask to be born into this world . Make the right desicion .

Um, you need to research FMLA laws in your state. Because pretty much everywhere else in the country, cannot take your job, replace you or cut your job or hours while under FMLA. Research what your laws are.

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Look for new job. Bad employers only get worse.

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Find a new job ,he’s taking advantage of you.

You should have learned the first.time

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Take your maternity then find a different job. You dont want to be working for a man like that. Know your worth!!
You can find a better job with more money!!

Dear God, Let This Man Be Taken By The Geese

You’re obviously very good at what you do so you call the shots

Never take a counter offer it never ends well,jst look for another job my dear

Always work for yourself not the company.

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I know it’s easy when they are twisting your arm to go back but you should never have gone back to that job in the first place. Move on or it will probably happen again they sound very manipulative and know exactly what they are doing.
Find a job where you are appreciated for your skills xx

Sounds like your boss is a bully. I would 100% take your maternity, look for a new job whilst your off work, and file a case against that company! If your contract that you signed agreed to the two jobs then that’s what you should be working, and being paid for.

No ifs or buts. I hope you can sort this out. It’s horrible being miserable at work expecially when your pregnant. Always work for yourself, and not the company. If you were putting 1000% effort in and doing overtime and working longer hours etc, he probably wouldn’t even care… If you came in to do an extra shift to help out, he doesn’t sound as though hed be grateful at all.

So I would just leave, and make yourself happy xx

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It not to late to sue him hit him where it hurts in his back pocket get help if you need it

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You’re asking FB followers and not an Attorney’s advice for this problem?

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Honestly you fucked yourself when you quit the job because had you hired a lawyer you could have had both jobs back or even a paycheck from them for the rest of you life if you quit

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Know you’re worth find another job

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Find yourself a lawyer. What he did first time round is illegal and im pretty sure you can still take action against him.

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I dont know how it works in America but England everything hes doing is illegal xx

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Look for new employment while on maternity leave.

That’s illegal, sue him !

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