If you have had a miscarriage, stillbirth, or other pregnancy loss, federal law generally gives you the right to take time off work to recover. Miscarriage and pregnancy loss leave most often comes through the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for eligible employees. Workers who fall outside the FMLA — because their employer is too small or they haven’t worked there long enough — may still be entitled to leave as a reasonable accommodation under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Some states add their own reproductive loss leave on top.
What the FMLA Covers After Pregnancy Loss
The FMLA entitles eligible employees to up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period when a serious health condition prevents them from doing their job.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2612 – Leave Requirement A serious health condition means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider.2eCFR. 29 CFR 825.113 – Serious Health Condition The Department of Labor has confirmed that any period before or after a pregnancy loss when a person cannot work for physical or mental medical reasons can be a serious health condition.3U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28P – Taking Leave from Work When You or Your Family Member Has a Serious Health Condition under the FMLA That covers both physical recovery and the mental health effects of the loss.
To qualify, you must satisfy three tests at the same time: you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months before leave starts, and work for an employer with at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your worksite.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2611 – Definitions The employer-size threshold is the biggest gap. If you work for a smaller company, the FMLA does not reach you.
The leave does not have to be taken in one block. You can use it intermittently, taking a day or a half-day at a time, if your health care provider supports that schedule. That flexibility matters when physical symptoms and emotional distress come and go.
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Protections
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act reaches workers the FMLA misses. It applies to employers with 15 or more employees and protects you from your first day on the job, with no minimum tenure or hours requirement.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 2000gg – Definitions
Under the PWFA, employers must provide reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would cause undue hardship.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 2000gg-1 – Nondiscrimination with Regard to Reasonable Accommodations Related to Pregnancy The EEOC’s final rule confirms that leave itself qualifies as a reasonable accommodation, even if you’ve already exhausted your employer’s regular leave benefits or don’t qualify for FMLA leave.7Federal Register. Implementation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Recovery from miscarriage falls within the statute.
Your employer also cannot force you onto leave when another accommodation, such as modified duties or a temporary schedule change, would let you keep working.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 2000gg-1 – Nondiscrimination with Regard to Reasonable Accommodations Related to Pregnancy And you don’t have to submit anything in writing or use legal terminology. Telling your supervisor or HR that you need time off for a pregnancy-related condition is enough to trigger the interactive process.8U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Pregnancy, Childbirth, or Related Medical Conditions Accommodations
State Reproductive Loss Leave
A growing number of states have laws that address leave after a miscarriage, stillbirth, or other reproductive loss, and these often reach workers who fall outside the FMLA. Illinois allows eligible employees up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave after a miscarriage, failed fertility treatment, or unsuccessful adoption. California requires employers with five or more employees to provide at least five days of reproductive loss leave. The details vary.
State leave sometimes runs separately from FMLA leave, so you may be entitled to state time off on top of your federal 12 weeks. In other states the two overlap. Some state laws also let you use accrued vacation, sick days, or PTO during otherwise unpaid reproductive loss leave so you still receive a paycheck. Many cities have paid sick leave ordinances that allow accrued sick time to be used for medical recovery, including recovery from pregnancy loss. Checking your state labor department’s website is worth the time.
Leave for a Spouse or Partner
If your spouse has experienced a miscarriage, you may have your own FMLA leave to care for them. The FMLA allows eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of leave to care for a spouse with a serious health condition,1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2612 – Leave Requirement and the Department of Labor specifically identifies caring for a spouse recovering from childbirth, including stillbirth, as a qualifying reason.3U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28P – Taking Leave from Work When You or Your Family Member Has a Serious Health Condition under the FMLA
The same eligibility rules apply: 12 months of employment, 1,250 hours worked, and an employer with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Your employer can ask for medical certification from your spouse’s provider confirming the serious health condition, but the certification does not need to disclose a specific diagnosis.3U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28P – Taking Leave from Work When You or Your Family Member Has a Serious Health Condition under the FMLA Both partners can have independent FMLA rights stemming from the same loss.
Getting Paid During Leave
The FMLA and most state reproductive loss laws only guarantee unpaid time off. A few sources can help replace some income.
Employer-provided short-term disability insurance often covers a portion of wages during recovery from a miscarriage, but coverage, waiting periods, and benefit amounts depend on the plan. Some plans exclude pregnancy-related conditions during the first year of coverage or impose elimination periods of one to two weeks, so confirm the details with your benefits coordinator before you count on the money.
A small number of states run mandatory temporary disability insurance programs that pay partial wages when a medical condition prevents you from working. Benefit amounts and duration vary by state, and most use a tiered formula in which lower earners receive a higher percentage of wages up to a weekly cap.
Out-of-pocket costs for hospital services, physician fees, surgical procedures, and other treatment tied to pregnancy loss are deductible medical expenses if you itemize on your federal tax return. Only the portion of your total medical and dental expenses that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income is deductible.9Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 502, Medical and Dental Expenses
How to Request Leave and What You Have to Share
Start with your employee handbook or benefits portal. Many employers have internal bereavement or short-term disability policies that go beyond what the law requires, and knowing what your company offers before you speak with HR helps you understand whether you’ll be paid and which leave category applies.
Notify your employer as soon as reasonably possible. Pregnancy loss is almost never foreseeable, so the FMLA’s usual notice standard is that you provide notice as soon as practicable, generally within one or two business days of learning you need leave. A short email to your supervisor and HR is usually enough. Something like “I need to take medical leave effective immediately due to a serious health condition” puts the employer on notice without disclosing personal details. Once you request FMLA leave, your employer has five business days to send you a notice of eligibility and a rights-and-responsibilities letter.
Your employer can require medical certification, but the law limits what it can ask for. Under the FMLA, the certification from your health care provider must include the date the condition began, its expected duration, and a statement that you cannot perform your job functions.10eCFR. 29 CFR 825.306 – Content of Medical Certification for Leave Taken Because of an Employees Own Serious Health Condition or the Serious Health Condition of a Family Member It does not need to include a specific diagnosis. Your provider can confirm you have a qualifying condition without describing the nature of your pregnancy loss.
Keep copies of everything you send and everything you receive. If a dispute arises, a clear paper trail is what separates a strong claim from a contested one.
Your Job and Health Insurance While You’re Out
When your FMLA leave ends, your employer must restore you to the same job or an equivalent one with equivalent pay, benefits, and working conditions. You keep the employment benefits you accrued before leave, though you do not continue accruing seniority while you’re out.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2614 – Employment and Benefits Protection
Your employer must also maintain your group health insurance during FMLA leave on the same terms as if you were still working, with the employer continuing to pay its share of premiums and you continuing to pay yours.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2614 – Employment and Benefits Protection
An employer can require a fitness-for-duty certification before allowing you back, but only if it applies that requirement uniformly to all employees returning from medical leave.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2614 – Employment and Benefits Protection Singling you out for extra medical scrutiny because your leave involved pregnancy loss would be on shaky legal ground.
If Your Employer Denies Leave or Retaliates
An employer that interferes with your FMLA rights or retaliates against you for taking leave is liable for your lost wages, salary, and employment benefits, plus an equal amount in liquidated damages. In practice, that means you can recover double your lost pay. You can file a complaint with the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, or you can file a private lawsuit. The statute of limitations is two years from the last violation, or three years if the violation was willful.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2617 – Enforcement
PWFA claims run through the same procedure as Title VII. You file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Remedies include back pay, front pay, reinstatement, compensatory damages, and punitive damages, subject to statutory caps that scale with employer size.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 2000gg-2 – Remedies and Enforcement
The filing deadlines here are strict. You generally have 180 calendar days from the discriminatory act to file an EEOC charge. The deadline extends to 300 days if a state or local agency enforces a law prohibiting the same type of discrimination. Internal grievance processes and mediation do not pause the clock.14U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits for Filing a Charge Do not wait to see whether things improve at work before filing.
The PWFA also prohibits adverse action against any employee who requests or uses an accommodation for pregnancy-related conditions.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 2000gg-1 – Nondiscrimination with Regard to Reasonable Accommodations Related to Pregnancy If your employer demotes you, cuts your hours, or shifts your responsibilities after you request pregnancy loss leave, that action itself can support a separate retaliation claim.