Answer the following questions based on the facts below:
Do you think the claimant in this case be awarded maternity leave or not? Why or why not? If the claimant only intended to take a six-month leave, should it make any difference what kind of leave she was granted? Why or why not? Facts: A member of the bargaining union adopted a baby girl. She delayed the adoption for three weeks to avoid missing work because it was a busy time for her employer. When she finally adopted the baby, she took a two-week vacation and then applied for a six-month unpaid maternity leave pursuant to the contract, which read in part:
Article X Leave of absence Section 4
Unpaid leaves Reasonable purpose
1. Leaves of absence for a limited period without pay, not to exceed 90 days, shall be granted for any reasonable purpose. Extension to be granted with approval of Borough Council.
2. Reasonable purpose in each case shall be agreed upon by the Union and the Borough. Maternity 1 Maternity Leaves, not to exceed six months, shall be granted at the request of an employee. Maternity leaves shall, upon the request of the employee, be extended or renewed for a period not to exceed six months.
The employer denied her maternity leave request but offered her a first and second 90-day leave for “reasonable purpose.” The employee filed a grievance. The employer contended that the employee is not entitled to maternity leave because she did not conceive and bear the child. The term maternity modifies leaves and as such is an adjective defined by Webster’s Dictionary to refer to “women during pregnancy and confinement.” Other collective bargaining agreements correctly refer to the leave as childbirth leave and this is obviously the purpose. The employer offered the grievant a reasonable-purpose leave she refused to take, which would have been the same six months off. The grievant contended that the term maternity leaves in the contract is a noun defined by Webster’s Dictionary to refer to “the quality or state of being a mother.” Maternity leaves are to provide both for the physical health and recovery of the mother and for the child rearing after birth. The length of time, an initial six months, and the ability to request another six moths would not have been provided if it were for the purpose of physical recovery alone. Obviously, the maternal relationship during the first months of an infant’s life is important to its development, regardless of whether the infant is adopted or biological. Decision: The arbitrator found no basis for the employer’s contention that the leave was limited to childbirth leave. Other contracts that mean childbirth leave use that term. This contract said maternity leaves and the arbitrator agreed that maternity included acting as mother after the child is born. The six-month leave was granted.