7 On Your Side helps new mom track down maternity leave funds
NEW JERSEY (WABC) -- A New Jersey mother waited months for the paid maternity leave she was promised by the state - until a call to 7 On Your Side helped cut through the silence.
Expectant mother Sarah Freitas applied for maternity benefits through the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development when she found that the small business she worked for didn't offer paid maternity leave. She said the state program would support her as she raised her firstborn son.
"I believe you get 85% of your salary...weekly. I think they told me it would have been about $1,000 a week. I think it's wonderful that they provide that," Freitas said.
Freitas submitted her paperwork a month before her due date in August but she says the application went as silent as a newborn's nap.
"They didn't really give me much of an explanation. I contacted (them) multiple times. I had no answers. They told me I was in line. They didn't tell me what number I was in that line. Basically, they just told me that I was still under review," she said.
Alexander and Sarah Freitas welcomed their firstborn son Nicoa on September 6th last year.
"I took off four weeks prior to my expected delivery date, then I had off after that for about four months," Freitas said.
For months, Freitas sacrificed and lived off her husband's income as a paver and landscaper. He says jobs got thin during the winter.
"It was a major struggle," Alexander Freitas said. "We had to put things on hold because we needed that money."
That's when Nicoa's grandmother cried out to 7 On Your Side.
"I was trying everything I possibly could. My mom actually said, 'Why don't you try 7 On Your Side?' And I was like, 'All right, I'll try it.' I didn't think I'd hear back from you guys. But I reached out and she did email yes, and I got a call, and I was ecstatic, so happy," Sarah said.
7 On Your Side reached out to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and by nap time the next day, Sarah's application for Nicoa's maternity leave was approved.
A state labor representative told 7 On Your Side "our teams work diligently with one goal in mind: to get benefits into the hand of those who need them as soon as possible."
The Labor Department also said, "We are modernizing our processes and systems across the board. The New Jersey Labor Department is glad your viewer chose to take advantage of the generous leave benefits Garden State workers are afforded."
For more information on the program, see the NJ Department of Labor's website here: Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance | Maternity Coverage
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