Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1188730
47 F A L L Q 4 I S S U E F E A T U R E weeks of time off at up to 70 percent pay. "I'm supposed to be on hiatus starting in mid-October, so will I qualify?" said Streetz, who was recently bumped up to editor on a Netflix show. "I have no idea how this works. It feels like there's a secret underground group that you have to find for answers." If such a shadowy (but well-informed) group existed, it might have prevented Erin Druez from making a financial mis- take during her first pregnancy. The film and TV editor filed for unemployment in- stead of paid family leave, which brought in far less money. "I learned the hard way," she said, noting that her unemployment pay was about half of what she could've brought in with paid family leave. "Now I share my experience with anyone who asks." S o m e wo m e n t r y to p l a n " h i a t u s babies," so the births won't conflict with work schedules. Others told CineMontage that they have turned down attractive jobs be- cause the work was too far from home or doctors' offices or might have coincided with their due dates. In essence, they opted out of the workforce because of their pregnancies. Shields, sympathizing with what she calls those kinds of "self-inflicted career wounds," advised expectant mothers these days to "be bold" and stay in the grind if at all possible. "Have high expectations for the peo- ple around you — they will accommodate you," she said. "And you'll normalize it for everyone and create a healthier workplace." NUTS AND BOLTS While she doesn't claim to be an ex- pert, Jessica Pratt, a field representative for the Editors Guild in Los Angeles and a mother of two, is a local resource for women in post-production and a go-to first stop for many female professionals and their partners. It's fairly common in the business for women to have 12 weeks off, with job protection, when they give birth, Pratt said. That's because Hollywood's below- the-line companies tend to adhere to the federal Family & Medical Leave Act, though they may not be legally bound to do so. (See sidebar for guidelines). "Twelve weeks off is typical, with a job waiting when the mother gets back if the show is still going. I haven't heard of a single person who was fired for taking family leave or having a baby," Pratt said. "The optics of that wouldn't be good." Pratt walks members through her own experience and refers them to the EDD's website and other online resourc- es. For members who seek additional guidance, she refers them to the Motion Picture Television Fund (MPTF) for as- sistance. MPTF employs a staff of social workers who are experienced in the type of employment that Hollywood demands. Gerry, from Legal Aid at Work, said members of her nonprofit organization can answer individual questions related to pregnancy and the workplace that may be unique to the post-production world. LIFE HACKS Professionals like Giselle Murillo me- thodically planned her children around h e r w o r k ( s h e n o w h a s t w o " h i a t u s babies"). "It's sad that that was a factor in when I got pregnant, but I was unsure and wanted to avoid the what-ifs," said Murillo, currently an editor on ABC's comedy "Modern Family" who had her second child in June and plans to return soon for the show's final season. "There are so many unknowns in our industry." Murillo, who previously worked on "New Girl," called herself "super-lucky because both pregnancies and births happened when I knew I had a job for an entire network season after I had the babies." That meant she could recover from the births without the added stress of going on interviews and lining up a new job during her leave. She also had an ace in the hole with her mother, a former HR manager, giving her a list of do's and don'ts for childbirth and job-related matters. "If you don't know the process, it's confusing," Murillo said, noting that she ran into hurdles even with all her inside information. Her doctor once filed paperwork late, and she missed out on some disability benefits as a result. She and other moms talked about working through exhaustion, trying to grab catnaps on any spare couch during down time, and challenges of returning to the bay while sleep-deprived because of fussy newborns. "Mind fog is real," Murillo said. "It's hard to go back, but you don't want to show that you're weak. You don't want to use that card, like, 'I just had a kid' as an excuse." Partners don't have an easy road, either. Non-birth parents are entitled to six weeks of paid family leave, which can be spread out over the first year of the child's life (or first year of an adoption). But some workers may not know about or take advantage of the benefit, those in the business said, and it's typical for partners, often a new dad, to take no more than two weeks. CHANGE IS AFOOT C a l i f o r n i a l a w m a k e r s r e c e n t l y expanded the state's paid family leave, allowing employees to take up to eight weeks off with partial pay after the birth or adoption of a child. That new rule 'Have high expectations for the people around you — they will accommodate you.'