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Tennessee Maternity Leave Act (TMLA)
The Tennessee Family Leave Act mandates that public and private employers must maintain a maternity leave policy that allows female employees 16 weeks of unpaid leave for adoption, pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing of her infant. For an adoption, the four month period begins when the employee assumes custody of the child.
Sixteen weeks is a long time to go without an income. Women in Tennessee can purchase short term disability and enjoy partial income replacement instead.
- Key provisions of the Tennessee Law
- Comparison to the federal family leave law
- How to afford 4 months of unpaid leave
Applying for Maternity Leave Payments Women in TN who have access to voluntary employee benefits may have purchased coverage that provides paid maternity leave benefits. Learn the steps to getting important income protection along with the unpaid job protection entitlements provided by the TN Family Leave Act.
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Short Term Disability for Maternity Tennessee Short Term Disability can add to your maternity leave pay, while protecting your family in case of pregnancy/delivery complications, accidents and illnesses. Sixteen weeks of job protected leave ensures that you will still have your job should you miss that much time from work. But how will you pay your bills without any money coming in during this time? The family leave act does not stipulate paid leave. Check out how to get private coverage for a paid leave.
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Federal FMLA vs Tennessee Family Leave Act
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law, whereas the Tennessee Family Leave Act applies to Tennessee workers only. Some key differences include:
- Length of leave is longer - The TN law allows for 16 weeks of leave versus 12 weeks for the Federal law
- Employer size is larger - Employer size is 100 employees versus 50 employees for the Federal law
- Focus is more narrow - The TN law focuses on pregnancy, maternity leave, and adoption exclusively
- FMLA guarantees health benefits - Employers must continue health benefits on the same basis
Tennesse Family Medical Leave - Key Provisions
The Tennesse Maternity Leave Act has special provisions related to pregnancy and maternity that are important to know should you encounter a pregnancy with complications, and/or your child is born with special needs.
* The employee must have worked with the employer for the preceding 12 months as a full time employee.
* The employee must give at least 3 months notice, except due to a medical emergency.
* Applies to employers with 100 or more employees at the job site or location.
Federal Family Leave Laws Tennessee has a state level family leave law, but did you know there are several other Federal regulations that may apply to workers and employers in the Volunteer State? Make sure you understand how the Federal FMLA, Pregnancy Discrimination, and ADA work in conjunction with the TN regulation.
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Tennessee Maternity Leave - How to Afford the Time Off
The Tennessee Maternity Leave law does not provide for paid leave for workers. Nor does the state have any mandated short term disability coverage. The FMLA provides for unpaid leave only. Can you afford to miss four months of work? It's great that Tennessee provides job protection, but how will you pay your bills?
Buying supplemental maternity coverage before getting pregnant is an ideal way to protect against this exposure. There are two policies that make great sense when things go according to plan, and protect your family finances when things don’t and you need the full sixteen weeks afforded by the TN regulation. The statute is in place because legislators understand that complications of pregnancy are quite common, and women often need extended time away from the job to get the proper rest. Also, infants are often born preterm or seriously ill, requiring extended care at home or in the hospital.
Short term disability replaces a portion of mom’s income during the time she misses prior to delivery, and while recovering from childbirth. Hospital indemnity pay benefits directly to the insured for a hospital stay, along with additional benefits if your infant(s) require specialized care in the hospital due to a medical reason.
Source: Tennessee Code 4-21-408
