Short Answer: Yes. Most employees work “at will” and can legally quit a job whenever they want, even while on maternity leave.
In New York, the two laws that most impact maternity leave are the Federal Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) and the New York Paid Family Leave (“PFL”). The FMLA and PFL both allow new mothers and fathers to take up to 12 weeks of leave for issues related to pregnancy, birth, and/or serious health conditions resulting from birth. To see if you are eligible for leave under the FMLA, click here, For the PFL, click here.
In addition to the FMLA and PFL, you should also consider your employer’s policies on resignation because the way you quit and the notice given may affect your eligibility to receive accrued and/or unvested benefits. Some require employees to sign a pledge to return after maternity leave.
Finally, if your employer offers paid maternity leave, an employee who quits during maternity leave may have to reimburse the employer based on the employer’s policies. If the employer continues to pay the employee’s medical insurance premium payments during the unpaid leave, the employer can seek reimbursement from an employee who either quits during maternity leave or does not “return” to work after maternity leave. Under the FMLA an employee is considered to have “returned” to work after working for 30 calendar days after the FMLA leave. An employee who goes from FMLA to retirement or who retires within the first 30 days after returning from FMLA leave is also considered to have “returned” to /work.
If you need more information about your rights under the FMLA or PFL, please contact us.