Paternity & Maternity Leave Benefits in Arizona

Maternity and paternity leave in Arizona is a hit-or-miss experience.

About half of parents qualify for FMLA, which means they can take off 12 weeks and return to the same or similar job at the same pay scale. The other half have no legal safeguards at all and must rely on the policies established by their employer.

However, most of this time off from work is unpaid.

Arizona does not mandate a temporary disability or paid family leave program. Only federal employees enjoy these benefits.

However, women taking proactive steps before conception come out way ahead!

Paid Parental Leave Arizona

Paid family leave exists for a minority of new parents working in Arizona. The Copper State does not have mandatory programs addressing temporary income losses due to disability, childbirth, or baby bonding time.

Private Workers

A tiny minority of mothers working for private employers in Arizona enjoy robust paid family leave benefits while unable to work because of a pregnancy-related medical condition.

Short-term disability in Arizona is voluntary because the state does not mandate a program for residents working in the private sector. Women who purchase a policy before conception might receive up to 66% of their income for these covered medical conditions.

• Medical complications of pregnancy before birth
• Recovery from labor and delivery
• Postpartum medical problems that delay her return to work

State Employees

Many mothers working for the state government in Arizona enjoy minuscule paid family leave benefits while they cannot work due to a pregnancy-related limitation.

The short-term disability plan for AZ government employees is also voluntary, meaning you must sign up in advance to file a claim. Furthermore, the elimination period limits maternity leave benefits dramatically, and delayed action could exacerbate the problem.

• Early Entrants: 30-Day Elimination Period
  • 6 weeks for vaginal birth becomes 12 days
  • 8 weeks for C-section delivery becomes 26 days
• Late Entrants: 60-Day Elimination Period
  • 6 weeks for vaginal birth becomes 0 days
  • 8 weeks for C-section delivery becomes 0 days

Mothers might enjoy fuller benefits if they take pregnancy disability leave before birth. They could satisfy a 30 or 60-day elimination period before their recovery from labor and delivery.  

Federal Employees

Federal government employees working in Arizona enjoy exceptional Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits courtesy of taxpayers nationwide. Eligible parents receive 100% of their income for up to eight weeks.

Paid Parental Leave for Federal Employees covers workers with twelve months of service, logging at least 1,250 hours in connection with a child’s birth or placement (for adoption or foster care).

FMLA-Eligible

Arizona parents covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) enjoy valuable job and health insurance protections lasting twelve weeks with one enormous caveat: the time off is unpaid.

1. You will not get paid while on FMLA unless you work for the federal government or purchase short-term disability before conception.
2. Roughly half of new parents do not qualify for FMLA, meaning they have zero weeks of legal job and health insurance protections.
   1. Must be an eligible employee
   2. Must work for a covered employer

Maternity Leave in Arizona

Arizona mothers have two sets of maternity leave benefits with vastly different possible outcomes for each new mom.

1. Job and health insurance protections under FMLA
2. Income replacement benefits through STD or PFL

Maternity Length

The answer to how long maternity leave lasts in Arizona has many possible correct answers for the two primary benefits.

1. Legal job and health insurance protections
   1. 0 weeks: moms not covered by FMLA
   2. 12 weeks: mothers covered by FMLA
2. Paid time off from work
   1. 0 weeks: for most new mothers
      1. Not covered by short-term disability
      2. 60-day elimination period exceeds the benefit time
   2. 8 weeks: federal government employees
   3. 12 weeks +: women covered by short-term disability
      1. File claims before birth for pregnancy complications
      2. File claims after birth for labor and delivery recovery

Maternity Amount

The answer to how much money mothers receive during maternity leave in Arizona has a wide range of possible correct responses, with nothing being the predominant answer.

1. 0% of income: mothers without short-term disability
2. 66% of wages: moms with short-term disability
3. 100% of earnings: mothers working for the federal government

Paternity Leave in Arizona

Arizona fathers have two sets of paternity leave benefits with vastly different possible outcomes for each new dad.

1. Job and health insurance protections under FMLA
2. Income replacement benefits through PFL (not STD)

Paternity Length

The answer to how long paternity leave lasts in Arizona has fewer possible correct answers for each of the two primary benefits because fathers have limited options.

1. Legal job and health insurance protections
   1. 0 weeks: dads not covered by FMLA
   2. 12 weeks: fathers covered by FMLA
2. Paid time off from work
   1. 0 weeks: for most new fathers
      1. State government employees
      2. Workers in the private sector
   2. 8 weeks: federal government employees

Paternity Amount

The answer to how much money fathers take in during paternity leave in Arizona has a narrow range of possible correct responses, with nothing being the most common.

Short-term disability does not cover paternity leave because Dad remains physically able to perform the duties of his full-time occupation. These policies do not pay for baby bonding time and care of a sick spouse or child.  

Therefore, only fathers working for the federal government receive money during paternity leave: 100% of income for eight weeks via PFL. All other dads take unpaid time off from work.