Leave Pregnancy leave is covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Employers are required to give employees 12 weeks unpaid leave to give birth and care for a child.
Employers can do more either by offering more time or by paying for all or some maternity leave.
State laws may provide more protection. Employees on pregnancy-related leave must be treated the same as other temporarily disabled employees for the purposes of accruing seniority, accruing vacation time and getting pay increases. For example, if your employer allows employees on leave for cancer treatment to continue accruing vacation time, employees on leave for pregancy must also be allowed to accrue vacation time. Work with an experienced lawyer in your state.