Maternity

 Click Here for Print Version of Chart.     Click here for Print Version of Chart.

Regularly Appointed Pedagogues (Click her for printable version)   Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Leaves of Absence (LOA) for Restoration of Health Eligibility Generally speaking, you'll have greater benefits with a leave of absence for restoration of health. See child care chart for FMLA eligibility. All appointed pedagogues. Commences any time during pregnancy and extends through 6 weeks after birth of child (8 weeks with caesarean if approved by DOE Medical Bureau). Health Benefits Up to 12 weeks 4 months SLOAC. You must exhaust CAR prior to taking a leave for restoration of health. When your baby is born file ERB form and Welfare Fund Change of Status Form with birth certificate to cover your child. Disability Benefits (Welfare Fund) Maximum 28 weeks (maternity - 6 weeks caesarian - 8 weeks) Eligibility begins following 28 days off payroll. Grace period can serve as waiting period for regulars. Benefit is paid through 6 weeks (8 weeks for C-section) after birth of child. CAR must be exhausted Forms Dept. of Education: FMLA Welfare Fund: DBL-1 Dept. of Education: OP 160 (Leave), OP 198 (CAR/Grace), Medical documentation (OP 407), EB 1054 (Secretary files) Welfare Fund: DBL-1 Notes FMLA eligibility is reduced by all paid and/or unpaid leave within the previous 12 months.

Personnel Memorandum #54, click here

Child Care (Following birth, adoption or foster care)

Care of Sick Family Members

Grace Period (click here for printable version)

If you are regularly appointed and you have exhausted your cumulative absence reserve (CAR), you are entitled to a 30-day grace period prior to the start of your leave of absence without pay for restoration of health. This grace period allows you to remain on the payroll. The leave of absence can begin at any time during the pregnancy and ends six weeks after the baby’s birth (eight weeks for a caesarean section if approved by DOE's Medical Bureau).

When you run out of sick days, you have the option of borrowing up to 20 sick days against future accumulations. Borrowed days are a debt you must repay to the DOE. Here are your repayment options:

• After you return to work, you’ll again earn 10 sick days for each full year of work. If you do not use them for illness, the DOE will apply them toward repayment of any borrowed days.
• Alternatively, while working, you can instruct your school secretary to deduct a day’s pay to restore a day to your sick bank.
• If you do not return to work or carry a balance of borrowed sick days until you retire, the DOE will deduct the amount you owe from any money due you. That deduction will be made at whatever your salary is at the time you are paying it back, which could be higher than your salary at the time you borrowed the days.

You DO NOT have to borrow sick days, so when they run out you are eligible for a grace period of 30 calendar days, which can be taken at any time during the pregnancy prior to the start of your leave of absence without pay for restoration of health. However, the grace period ends if you have not completed it by the end of the sixth week after giving birth (eight weeks for caesarean section if approved by DOE's Medical Bureau).

During the grace period, you will be kept on the payroll as if you were still working; this is for all purposes (such as for seniority credit, excessing credit, salary credit, sick day credit, pro-rata vacation pay and health coverage).

You will receive partial pay for this period (the formula is easiest understood as payment for weekends and holidays during the 30-day grace period. The formula is calculated by deducting each day of absence at a rate of 1/25th of a month’s salary).

In order to apply for a grace period, complete DOE form OP 198. Check box “E other” and write “30-day grace period” in the space. (NOTE: It is your responsibility to get medical certification from your doctor to confirm your eligibility for the leave. You are eligible for only one grace period per school year.)

 In order to be eligible for a 30-day grace period following the summer vacation, you must be in active service. That means you must have at least one day in your cumulative absence reserve following the summer vacation. A grace period is granted for personal illness, so to get it you must complete the medical certification portion of the OP 198 form in order for the request for a grace period to be approved.

UFT Welfare Fund Disability Benefits (click here for printable version)

The UFT Welfare Fund Disability Plan replaces part of your salary when you are unable to work for medical reasons and you have exhausted your sick bank. The UFT Welfare Fund Disability Plan provides pedagogues with $350 per week for up to six weeks (eight weeks for caesarean section) following the delivery. Should you be disabled longer, contact the UFT Welfare Fund for possible continuation of disability benefits.

There is an unpaid waiting period of 28 consecutive calendar days of disability (not counting summer vacation) after the mother has exhausted her sick bank and has been removed from the Department of Education payroll. Benefits begin with the 29th day. For a routine pregnancy, this 28-day waiting period may begin with the start of the ninth month if the mother is off payroll at that time. Members must be on an approved leave of absence without pay for restoration of health to qualify for this benefit. (The 28-day waiting period is satisfied if you take a grace period.)

To apply for the Disability Plan write to the UFT Welfare Fund or call the Fund’s Forms Hotline (212/539-0539) and request form DBL1. File the form along with a copy of the approved, signed restoration of health leave. Be sure to sign the certification portion of the DBL1.

You can receive disability payments before your ninth month of pregnancy, if you’re actually disabled and prevented from performing your duties by physical illness. You may be required to have an examination by a designated physician selected by the UFT Welfare Fund. Do not wait for your baby to be born. File a claim for disability benefits as soon as you become disabled. Disability benefits are time sensitive and must be requested.

A member with a complicated pregnancy whom the UFT Welfare Fund’s medical advisor has deemed disabled may be eligible for up to 28 weeks of disability benefits and extended SLOAC coverage beyond the four-month limit.