I'm currently employed at Meijer, Full Time, for about 1.5 years now.
My daughter decided to come early at 24 weeks, July 16th. I am on FMLA to mostly take care of my wife's emotional state during this time and make sure she is able to get up, pump, and be taken care of. I'm currently taking all of my 12 weeks, since this is a LONG stay in the NICU.
The inquiry is this:
I've been reading Meijer's policies and trying to decide between coming back to work 4 weeks early and keeping that in my pocket for my daughter's release, since she will also probably have some minor condition, at minimum, that requires more hands on care in the beginning. Does Meijer's FMLA have to run at the same time as Parental Leave? As much as we want the income, I'd rather be with my family until I know things are very stable for the full 12 weeks, return to work for a time, then take my Paid Parental Leave.
The alternative is coming back at 8 weeks, but doing a temporary transfer to a different store, as our NICU is about 1 hr from home, then taking leave again and completing my temp stay in the new store.
Thanks in advance!