CA - Parental Leave Policy with New Employer, Need Insight
I'm hoping folks in here might have some helpful experience that can help with my current situation:
I just accepted a new job at a small company (fewer than 5 employees) in California. I'm not pregnant, but am planning to be in the next 2-3 years, so during the job negotiation phase, I asked about their parental leave policy. I'm the first person they've hired, so they needed time to develop a policy. I'm also the first woman to work at this company (but one of the partners has young children, so I imagine they went through this in some form once before).
They just presented me with my employment contract to review. In the contract, they're offering me "4 weeks of full salaried time off for parental leave, plus an additional 8 weeks at half compensation." It also stipulates that an "employee is welcome to take as much time off as desired, and their position will be guaranteed for a period of six (6) months"
So now, I have a few questions:
- First, I'm wondering whether this is a fair policy, given the size of the company, or if I should try and advocate for any changes.
- Second, I'm aware that because the company has fewer than 5 employees, I'm technically not protected by FMLA/California's Family Rights Act, and I'm ineligible for the state's Pregnancy Disability Leave, HOWEVER, if my employer saying in the contract my position is guaranteed for 6 months, does that mean I'm getting the same if not better protection through my Employer's plan?
- Finally, I just want to be able to understand: Would I in theory be able to stack their 4 weeks of full paid, 8 weeks half compensation, PLUS the 10-12 weeks offered to me by SDI and 8 weeks of PFL at 70–90% of my wages—for a combined 30 weeks/almost 7 months of paid leave in some form?
Hope there's someone out there who has been in a similar situation who can offer some insight!