How many employees are there at your museum? This impacts this
decision slightly. I would also consult your local labor laws.
I have worked in museums where it was 6 weeks, I have worked in museums
where it is 8. My current employer was eight weeks until we expanded
and added an IMAX. This gave us over 50 employees and made us eligible
for leave as outlined in the Family Medical Leave Act. This now gives
women up to 12 weeks.
In all places where I worked, you were required to use your sick,
vacation and personal time first before you could move to unpaid. In
no job has this period been paid time off.
As for the work at home, work part-time option...I was given some
flexibility due to the nature of my position and the need for me to come in
during the 12 week period. This was a special circumstance that was
approved by the director and board.
When FMLA came into the picture, I know personnel policies were all
rewritten and lawyers had to be involved. In my case, my proposed plan
was looked at by the lawyers and had to be approved.
I would start by looking at your state laws and assessing if your
museum meets FMLA requirements. From there you can begin to establish
a policy.
I will say that in my case, I got to be a guinea pig. No one had
been pregnant in a long tiome in our institution. Some of the haggling
and such and waiting for decisions was stressful during a time when most
women try to lessen their stress. I think that all institutions should
have a policy in place and that if needed or if laws change, it should be in
place so that employees and employers know what to expect. That allows
the policy setting to be impartial and not based on current
circumstances.
Christina M. Myatt
Theatrical Programming Coordinator
Putnam
Museum
1717 West 12th Street
Davenport IA 52804
563.324.1054 ext.
207 (phone)
[log in to unmask]-----Original
Message-----
From: Cindy Ryman Yost <[log in to unmask]>
To:
[log in to unmask]
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2004 12:22:06 EDT
Subject: Executive Director/President Question
I am interested in the experience of female executive directors who
have had
children while serving as directors.
We have two
children but both were born when I worked in a different field
and was
the chief operating officer. This allowed me to take extended
maternity
leaves, returning part-time and doing a significant amount of
work from home
from the time the baby was born to returning to work.
Now we have discovered, somewhat to our surprise, that we will be having
another baby in early December. There is only one other person on
our staff who
has had a baby while working at our Museum and it was
before I was hired. She
took only 6 weeks.
I am looking to
learn from the experience of others in preparation for making
a proposal
to my board. Any advice, successes, challenges, etc. are welcome.
Thanks.
Cindy Ryman Yost
Executive Director
Lincoln
Children's Museum