FMLA Woes

In the midst of worrying about moving and deciding on an agency, I hadn't given much thought to an actually timeline for this whole adoption thing. Sure, there's the "never really knowing how it's all going to play out" thing that's part of any adoption. But it hit me that changing jobs might pose a problem with the FMLA should a referral come some time early next year.

So I called an HR person at my new place and found out I am correct. As is dictated by federal law regarding FMLA, until I've been working there 12 months I will not qualify for a leave. Since my contract doesn't begin until late August, I can't get any time off until about Sept. 1 2008. Now, because I work in education I technically do not have go in to the office over the summer. That's good. But, if a referral and trip were to come any time before, say, the end of April 2008 I'd (we'd) be screwed. If that were to happen I could only take a "general leave" and that means no pay at all. That would be hard enough (if it were even possible) but, even worse, my company would not cover insurance during that period. That is absolutely not a possibility.

What does this mean for now? Well, although we have not yet decided exactly when we'd like this to go through, it seems that now we need to coordinate with whichever agency we choose and try to ensure we turn in paperwork in such a way as to "stall" a referral. Which basically sucks.

BTW, this is just one more way my current job (that I've leaving) has managed to screw me. I don't really want to get into it here, so you'll have to trust me on this.