Maternity Leave in the US: FMLA, Paid Leave by State and When to Start

How Long Is Maternity Leave in the US?

Unlike most other high-income countries, the United States has no federal law guaranteeing paid maternity leave. What the federal government does guarantee, through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), is unpaid, job-protected time off: the U.S. Department of Labor states that eligible employees can take "up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period" for the birth of a child, with required continuation of health insurance benefits under the same terms as if you had kept working.

Whether any of that time is paid depends on two things layered on top of FMLA: whether your state runs its own paid family leave insurance program, and whether your employer offers paid parental leave as a benefit. Some new parents end up with only the unpaid 12 weeks; others, in a state with a paid-leave program and a generous employer policy, can end up with several months of partially or fully paid time off. There is no single national number — you have to check your own state and employer.

FMLA Maternity Leave: Eligibility and What It Covers

The FMLA is the federal baseline. According to the Department of Labor, to be eligible you generally need to:

• Work for a covered employer for at least 12 months
• Have at least 1,250 hours of service with that employer in the 12 months before your leave starts
• Work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles

Covered employers are "private-sector employers who employ 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in either the current calendar year or the previous calendar year," plus public agencies (federal, state, and local government) and local educational agencies, regardless of size. If you meet the criteria, you're entitled to up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave — or up to 26 weeks in a single 12-month period if you're caring for a covered servicemember. If your employer is too small, or you haven't been there long enough or worked enough hours, FMLA simply doesn't apply to you; your options then are your state's program (if it has one) and your employer's own policy.

Your Rights Beyond FMLA: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP Act

Two more federal laws matter for pregnant and postpartum employees, and they cover more workplaces than FMLA does. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), enforced by the EEOC, requires covered employers — defined as "a person engaged in industry affecting commerce who has 15 or more employees" — to "make reasonable accommodations to the known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of a qualified employee," unless doing so would be an undue hardship on the business. That can include things like more frequent breaks, a stool to sit on, or temporarily lighter duties, worked out through a conversation with your employer rather than a one-size-fits-all policy.

The PUMP Act, enforced by the Department of Labor, entitles nursing employees to "reasonable break time... to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child's birth each time such employee has need to express the milk," plus access to "a place to pump at work, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion." This applies broadly, including to agricultural workers, nurses, teachers, and drivers, with a narrow hardship exception for employers who can show compliance would mean significant expense or unsafe conditions.

Paid Maternity Leave by State

A number of states run their own paid family and medical leave insurance programs — separate from FMLA — that pay you a percentage of your wages while you're out. We opened each state's own program page directly to confirm the details below; treat any state not listed here as unconfirmed rather than assuming it has no program, since more states are rolling these out.

A few other states (including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, Rhode Island, and Washington DC) have their own paid-leave programs too — we simply couldn't load their official pages to verify current weeks and pay figures while researching this article, so we've left them out rather than guess. If you're in one of those states, search "[your state] paid family leave" to find the official program site directly.

When Should You Start Your Maternity Leave?

Many people assume FMLA leave can only start once the baby arrives, but that's not quite right. The Department of Labor's fact sheet on birth and bonding leave is explicit: "any period before or after childbirth where an employee is not able to work for medical reasons may be considered FMLA leave for a serious health condition," and that includes leave for "severe morning sickness or complications requiring bed rest, or for prenatal care." So if a pregnancy complication, doctor-ordered bed rest, or frequent prenatal appointments mean you can't work before your due date, that time can count as FMLA leave — it doesn't have to wait until after delivery.

Bonding leave (the time after birth) works a little differently: it's available "during the 12-month period beginning on the date of birth," and while it's normally taken as one continuous block, the DOL notes that "employees may use FMLA leave for birth, placement, and bonding intermittently or to work a reduced schedule but only if they and their employer agree." In practice, most people take their leave in a single stretch that starts shortly before or at delivery and use the full block afterward — but if you need to split it, that's a conversation to have with HR.

Estimating your own timeline: a simple way to sketch it out is to add up (1) any leave you'll need before birth for medical reasons, (2) your state's paid-leave weeks, if any, and (3) any additional unpaid FMLA weeks up to the 12-week federal cap, then check that against your employer's own parental-leave policy — some employers offer paid leave that runs concurrently with FMLA rather than on top of it. Your HR department or state program's own online calculator (linked in the table above) will give you the most accurate number for your specific pay and dates.

Frequently Asked Questions