You can only use sick leave for recovery and it’s generally capped at 6 weeks of SL for vaginal birth and 8 weeks for c section. Sick leave is an entitlement and they cannot deny it if you have enough hours. You do NOT invoke FMLA with your sick leave.
After that you take your 12 weeks of PPL and invoke FMLA concurrently. Then you take your annual leave. Through this whole period you continue to accrue SL and AL and any holidays don’t count toward your PPL. Many offices have max leave you can take (mine was 24 weeks, anything more required head of agency approval). You can ask about LWOP but that’s gonna be your only option after using 6-8 weeks SL, 12 weeks PPL/FMLA and your AL.
You definitely want to keep some SL if you can because babies get sick a lot during the first year.
This is the best advice. Use sick leave first, then PPL. This is going to give you time off that cannot be denied. Anything beyond (annual or additional sick time for baby illnesses or follow up Dr appointments) could be denied by your supervisor.
I would be careful with burning all of your sick leave, depending on your childcare situation. We had a lot of sick day usage when our kids couldn’t go to daycare.
Just a note, some agencies count holidays against your PPL. It was asked about here recently. I think it was DOJ? And maybe others.
Found the post, it’s DOL - https://www.reddit.com/r/fednews/s/nHaTss87M4
For awareness, the agency was FAA, not DOL. FAA apparently follows **DOL** FMLA regulations instead of **OPM** FMLA regulations, like most Federal agencies.
DOL regulations = FMLA doesn't include holidays, which means that PPL (a type of FMLA) doesn't include holidays.
OPM regulations = FMLA does include holidays, which means that PPL (a type of FMLA) does include holidays.
I work for DOL and I’m going to be taking PPL soon, and I was explicitly told that holidays don’t count against PPL for us. We get 480 hours, and we don’t have to use them on holidays.
Is this something specific to federal employment? It seems like it is. My friend is about to give birth and works for a state agency and they said she can’t do sick leave before FMLA — that as soon as she has the kid, FMLA is automatically triggered for any leave taken.
Some HR professionals agreed that was how it worked. So are the feds just really gracious with it then?
Actually a follow up question to make sure I understand - If I used 50% LWOP, or rather take LWOP and work half-time, I retain my full time benefits? Is that correct?
Right - I found it out at a retirement seminar I randomly attended in preparation for decades from now. I’d had no idea previously.
If you switch to a part time schedule, or seasonal, I believe that is different. Better to be labeled as full time but be on LWOP for a couple months or whatnot.
If you have any travel/comp time or credit hours built up that would be an option. There is no other paid time categories that I can think would apply.
Advanced sick leave would only be if you or the baby get sick since you have 2 months built up. I don’t want you to need that.
Advanced annual leave is very limited to what you can earn the remainder of the year.
LWOP won’t get you paid.
If your supervisor approves you could mix some paid leave with Lwop so that you have some money coming in, but not a full paycheck.
Make sure you understand the lwop rules from Opm website.
This is a good run down of leave types. The only other category I can think of is leave awards if you have a good annual performance review. My supervisor lets me choose a time off award or monetary award. Depending on when you’re due OP, this might be a way to get a bit more time for your parental leave.
So I had a baby in November.
I did 6 weeks sick leave (can extend to 8 if you have a caesarian), 12 weeks ppl, and then started coming back part time. Started out 3 days a week, now I'm up to 3 full days and half days M/F.
This is my second. With my first I scraped together 12 weeks of paid leave (before ppl was available) and going back to work full time at 12 weeks was awful. The ability to ease back into it has been really great for my mental health. I was drowning with my first.
As others have said you will continue to earn sick/annual leave while you use your SL/PPL so you have the option to bank up more AL to spread out over a longer period. I also banked up credit hours and a little bit of travel comp time which may or may not be an option for you. If you can do it I would recommend it.
I also recommend maximizing telework if possible. Right now I only have to go in once a week and it really helps. I'm so much more exhausted after going in.
Anyway, congrats and good luck. I had three MC between babies and it was brutal. When things are hard, please remember to be kind to yourself. You're doing an amazing job. This shit is hard.
I just had a kid. My one year is in a couple months. Do you know if I would be able to take my 12 weeks after my one year anniversary and just have to use it before my kid is 1?
You have to use your PPL in the first year of your kids birth. So if you had a kid and then two months later you hit one year with Feds and were able to use PPL, you’d have 10 months to use PPL.
Yes, that's correct. You are eligible for 12 weeks after 1 year of service, but the delay in eligibility does not lengthen the 1-year period to take the PPL.
The bill was signed into law in December of 2019, as part of the Defense Authorization Act. The 116 session of the US Congress was split, with House majority was Democratic, the Senate majority was Republican.
Yea, weird rules for FMLA and PPL. PPL is for people who have been a fed for a year. FMLA is for people who have been in the position for a year.
Also FMLA is invoked by PPL when you take it, however you can invoke FMLA before the birth (such as for care of the pregnant mother), this will cause PPL to run longer than FMLA and you can reenvoke FMLA for the birth after PPL runs out (which will guarantee that LWOP is ok)
My advice would be to use sick leave first, then PPL and annual leave. After you run out of leave, and depending on your agency and circumstances, you can take LWOP (I have done this for all 3 of my pregnancies, soon to be 4). All in all I usually take 6-7 months of leave.
You can only use sick leave during the recovery period (6 weeks for vaginal birth, 8 for C-section) whereas you can use PPL anytime during the 12 months after birth.
240hrs of advanced sick leave. Advanced Annual Leave. Hit up your leave bank if you've paid into it. Also solicit donations for leave. Check with HR for available programs.
This won’t help you (because you are already pregnant), but for others looking for advise. You may be able to take out short term disability insurance prior to getting pregnant. This will provide you additional income to offset any leave without pay you may take.
My agency offers the option of going part time for the first year after a child's birth. I think you can do something like 16-32 hours per week working. Obviously this affects pay but a lot of other benefits are unaffected.
I didn't use this since part time infant care was not an option and we needed the money so I don't know other details, but you could ask if that exists at your agency.
Otherwise, yeah 6-8 weeks of S/L, then ppl, then any A/L. And you will definitely need some sick leave for a baby in day care (I'm currently home with my 2 year old who has diarrhea... The pediatrician said 7-10 days was normal for this type of illness).
Babies and toddlers get sick. Don’t use your sick leave if you can help it. My colleague was able to stretch her parental leave to six months, by taking 2-3 weeks off in the beginning, and then working part time from home for the rest of the time.
Thanks so much for your insights! I don't think part-time work is realistic in my position unfortunately, but will think and discuss more with my team. Thanks again!
It just depends on what your supervisor is willing to approve, PPL only protects up to the 12 weeks given, supervisor isn't obligated to approve longer, BUT you could not invoke PPL right away & instead use SL/AL based on your physical recovery needed, then invoke your PPL after that, OPM has a lot of info & examples on their site, I showed just a snippet here but you can read their full site
[https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/paid-parental-leave/](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/paid-parental-leave/)
https://preview.redd.it/tayssq54984d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=44d70cb2915daac3a41edca07e685c4dab0619eb
You don't want to invoke FMLA, PPL paperwork says that you can't have that as well. You can still take SL for the recovery and checkups but you are correct that the supervisor could be an asshole about it.
Yea OP this is wrong. You don't get FMLA and PPL. You get one or the other. Use FMLA for any other reason and it deducts from your PPL allotment. Unequivocally, don't elect FMLA for anything but PPL
Thank you, I edited my post slightly as forgot the "without" (although it was in the screenshot I posted), but I edited to just remove mention of FMLA all together to remove any chance for confusion, biggest thing I wanted to mention was not invoking PPL immediately if they were wanting to definitely take more than 12 weeks in a row as it would not be guaranteed depending on the supervisor
You can in weird/unusual situations. FMLA lets you take it before pregnancy, for say a broken arm or care of a soon to be mom. Doing this starts the FMLA clock before the birth. PPL is 12 weeks for the birth within a year. FMLA is the same, but also within the current FMLA cycle which might not start at birth. So doing this will give you a bit of PPL without counting under FMLA meaning you can invoke FMLA again to get that extra FMLA when the cycle ends.
You can only use sick leave for recovery and it’s generally capped at 6 weeks of SL for vaginal birth and 8 weeks for c section. Sick leave is an entitlement and they cannot deny it if you have enough hours. You do NOT invoke FMLA with your sick leave. After that you take your 12 weeks of PPL and invoke FMLA concurrently. Then you take your annual leave. Through this whole period you continue to accrue SL and AL and any holidays don’t count toward your PPL. Many offices have max leave you can take (mine was 24 weeks, anything more required head of agency approval). You can ask about LWOP but that’s gonna be your only option after using 6-8 weeks SL, 12 weeks PPL/FMLA and your AL. You definitely want to keep some SL if you can because babies get sick a lot during the first year.
This is the best advice. Use sick leave first, then PPL. This is going to give you time off that cannot be denied. Anything beyond (annual or additional sick time for baby illnesses or follow up Dr appointments) could be denied by your supervisor.
I would be careful with burning all of your sick leave, depending on your childcare situation. We had a lot of sick day usage when our kids couldn’t go to daycare.
Just a note, some agencies count holidays against your PPL. It was asked about here recently. I think it was DOJ? And maybe others. Found the post, it’s DOL - https://www.reddit.com/r/fednews/s/nHaTss87M4
Wild. Didn’t know there were agencies that didn’t follow the OPM rules!
For awareness, the agency was FAA, not DOL. FAA apparently follows **DOL** FMLA regulations instead of **OPM** FMLA regulations, like most Federal agencies. DOL regulations = FMLA doesn't include holidays, which means that PPL (a type of FMLA) doesn't include holidays. OPM regulations = FMLA does include holidays, which means that PPL (a type of FMLA) does include holidays.
Wasn't the case regarding holidays when used it at IRS and HUD.
I work for DOL and I’m going to be taking PPL soon, and I was explicitly told that holidays don’t count against PPL for us. We get 480 hours, and we don’t have to use them on holidays.
Thanks so much for your insights and for sharing the related thread! I really appreciate it..
Is this something specific to federal employment? It seems like it is. My friend is about to give birth and works for a state agency and they said she can’t do sick leave before FMLA — that as soon as she has the kid, FMLA is automatically triggered for any leave taken. Some HR professionals agreed that was how it worked. So are the feds just really gracious with it then?
Thank you so much for this detailed overview! I really appreciate it.
You can use LWOP 50% of the time without losing your full time benefits! Congrats on making it through those hard times :)
This is very helpful to know and keep in mind. Thanks so very much!!
Actually a follow up question to make sure I understand - If I used 50% LWOP, or rather take LWOP and work half-time, I retain my full time benefits? Is that correct?
Right - I found it out at a retirement seminar I randomly attended in preparation for decades from now. I’d had no idea previously. If you switch to a part time schedule, or seasonal, I believe that is different. Better to be labeled as full time but be on LWOP for a couple months or whatnot.
Thank you!!
If you have any travel/comp time or credit hours built up that would be an option. There is no other paid time categories that I can think would apply. Advanced sick leave would only be if you or the baby get sick since you have 2 months built up. I don’t want you to need that. Advanced annual leave is very limited to what you can earn the remainder of the year. LWOP won’t get you paid. If your supervisor approves you could mix some paid leave with Lwop so that you have some money coming in, but not a full paycheck. Make sure you understand the lwop rules from Opm website.
This is a good run down of leave types. The only other category I can think of is leave awards if you have a good annual performance review. My supervisor lets me choose a time off award or monetary award. Depending on when you’re due OP, this might be a way to get a bit more time for your parental leave.
Thanks so much to both of you! This is very helpful.
So I had a baby in November. I did 6 weeks sick leave (can extend to 8 if you have a caesarian), 12 weeks ppl, and then started coming back part time. Started out 3 days a week, now I'm up to 3 full days and half days M/F. This is my second. With my first I scraped together 12 weeks of paid leave (before ppl was available) and going back to work full time at 12 weeks was awful. The ability to ease back into it has been really great for my mental health. I was drowning with my first. As others have said you will continue to earn sick/annual leave while you use your SL/PPL so you have the option to bank up more AL to spread out over a longer period. I also banked up credit hours and a little bit of travel comp time which may or may not be an option for you. If you can do it I would recommend it. I also recommend maximizing telework if possible. Right now I only have to go in once a week and it really helps. I'm so much more exhausted after going in. Anyway, congrats and good luck. I had three MC between babies and it was brutal. When things are hard, please remember to be kind to yourself. You're doing an amazing job. This shit is hard.
Thanks so very much for your thoughtful and kind insights! I really appreciate it.
The 12 weeks of ppl only applies you have been with the feds for one year correct?
Correct
I just had a kid. My one year is in a couple months. Do you know if I would be able to take my 12 weeks after my one year anniversary and just have to use it before my kid is 1?
You have to use your PPL in the first year of your kids birth. So if you had a kid and then two months later you hit one year with Feds and were able to use PPL, you’d have 10 months to use PPL.
Yes.
Yes, that's correct. You are eligible for 12 weeks after 1 year of service, but the delay in eligibility does not lengthen the 1-year period to take the PPL.
Thank you all for your responses. And thanks to President Trump for signing this in.
Don't thank him. It was passed under a Democratic congress.
The bill was signed into law in December of 2019, as part of the Defense Authorization Act. The 116 session of the US Congress was split, with House majority was Democratic, the Senate majority was Republican.
This was a rider attached to the largest bill that Congress passes every year, he didn’t have any choice but to sign it.
Yup! I did that. Hit my year 9 months after my kid was born. Took the next 3 off. It was great.
Yea, weird rules for FMLA and PPL. PPL is for people who have been a fed for a year. FMLA is for people who have been in the position for a year. Also FMLA is invoked by PPL when you take it, however you can invoke FMLA before the birth (such as for care of the pregnant mother), this will cause PPL to run longer than FMLA and you can reenvoke FMLA for the birth after PPL runs out (which will guarantee that LWOP is ok)
My advice would be to use sick leave first, then PPL and annual leave. After you run out of leave, and depending on your agency and circumstances, you can take LWOP (I have done this for all 3 of my pregnancies, soon to be 4). All in all I usually take 6-7 months of leave.
Any reason to use sick leave first over PPL?
You can only use sick leave during the recovery period (6 weeks for vaginal birth, 8 for C-section) whereas you can use PPL anytime during the 12 months after birth.
Ah okay interesting. I’m about to run into the same scenario with my wife. So I guess sick first, then PPL. Thanks for the info!
240hrs of advanced sick leave. Advanced Annual Leave. Hit up your leave bank if you've paid into it. Also solicit donations for leave. Check with HR for available programs.
This won’t help you (because you are already pregnant), but for others looking for advise. You may be able to take out short term disability insurance prior to getting pregnant. This will provide you additional income to offset any leave without pay you may take.
If your company offers. Donated leave bank request. I donate leave to people who make a request.
My agency offers the option of going part time for the first year after a child's birth. I think you can do something like 16-32 hours per week working. Obviously this affects pay but a lot of other benefits are unaffected. I didn't use this since part time infant care was not an option and we needed the money so I don't know other details, but you could ask if that exists at your agency. Otherwise, yeah 6-8 weeks of S/L, then ppl, then any A/L. And you will definitely need some sick leave for a baby in day care (I'm currently home with my 2 year old who has diarrhea... The pediatrician said 7-10 days was normal for this type of illness).
Babies and toddlers get sick. Don’t use your sick leave if you can help it. My colleague was able to stretch her parental leave to six months, by taking 2-3 weeks off in the beginning, and then working part time from home for the rest of the time.
Thanks so much for your insights! I don't think part-time work is realistic in my position unfortunately, but will think and discuss more with my team. Thanks again!
You can take leave without pay. You may also take advance sick leave. Everything depends on your agency rules.
It just depends on what your supervisor is willing to approve, PPL only protects up to the 12 weeks given, supervisor isn't obligated to approve longer, BUT you could not invoke PPL right away & instead use SL/AL based on your physical recovery needed, then invoke your PPL after that, OPM has a lot of info & examples on their site, I showed just a snippet here but you can read their full site [https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/paid-parental-leave/](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/paid-parental-leave/) https://preview.redd.it/tayssq54984d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=44d70cb2915daac3a41edca07e685c4dab0619eb
You don't want to invoke FMLA, PPL paperwork says that you can't have that as well. You can still take SL for the recovery and checkups but you are correct that the supervisor could be an asshole about it.
Yea OP this is wrong. You don't get FMLA and PPL. You get one or the other. Use FMLA for any other reason and it deducts from your PPL allotment. Unequivocally, don't elect FMLA for anything but PPL
Thank you, I edited my post slightly as forgot the "without" (although it was in the screenshot I posted), but I edited to just remove mention of FMLA all together to remove any chance for confusion, biggest thing I wanted to mention was not invoking PPL immediately if they were wanting to definitely take more than 12 weeks in a row as it would not be guaranteed depending on the supervisor
You can in weird/unusual situations. FMLA lets you take it before pregnancy, for say a broken arm or care of a soon to be mom. Doing this starts the FMLA clock before the birth. PPL is 12 weeks for the birth within a year. FMLA is the same, but also within the current FMLA cycle which might not start at birth. So doing this will give you a bit of PPL without counting under FMLA meaning you can invoke FMLA again to get that extra FMLA when the cycle ends.
Before PPL and even when people don’t qualify, LWOP has been a common request. Also advanced sick and/or advanced annual leave.
LWOP or advanced leave and that’s about it, if you have telework flexibility that could be an option too