Looking forward to being a first-time father, New York City Transit worker Reinaldo Lopez faces a tragic plot twist that puts him in a grave situation of needing his paid parental leave while he grieves for his stillborn child.
Lopez, a New York City Transit worker, decided to file for a two-week off for paternity leave as he and his wife are expecting to have a baby and start a family soon. However, his leave was denied by the MTA and ordered him back to work after three days.
His wife, Elyse Ortiz, was carrying a baby boy in her belly for eight months-- going nine-- in late January when she noticed that she has not been feeling any baby kicks for a while. This being unusual for her and Lopez, they decided to go to the doctor to have herself and the baby checked. However, when they went there, they discovered that the baby had no heartbeat. Ortiz had to give a natural birth that night to their stillborn child.
According to Lopez, he and his wife felt devastated by the tragedy they experienced. He also further shared how he was looking forward to his son to come and how rewarding it could have been for him and his wife to have her into natural birth and holding your baby after and hear them cry.
Aside from the sad loss, the couple still gave their stillborn child a name and named him "Sylas."
Lopez also shared that he filed for a paid family leave since his wife is already almost on her due date. However, his supervisors denied his leave application. He revealed that it was his representatives at Local 100 who helped him get his vacation days moved around so he and his wife can grieve for their loss.
The 33-year-old NYC Transit worker further shared how hard it is for him and his wife to cope up with their loss while they have bills to pay. He said they were not mentally and emotionally okay for them to handle such problems, but they have no choice. He also shared how one person can operate one thing through different tracks and situations and there are still people who will drag you down.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) gave Lopez only three days of bereavement leave, in which it was the standard for workers who are experiencing a death in the family. However, Lopez digs deeper into the New York state law and the MTA's new contract with his union. He found out that his union and the state law promises two weeks of family leave for new parents.
According to Lopez, he read all the rules about paternal leave and you need to just have birth to be entitled to one. However, there was nothing that stated that a father will not be entitled to paternity leave even if the baby is stillborn.
With that going on, the MTA board revised their new contract to Local 100 last month. However, the implementation of two weeks paid family leave is still being negotiated by the officials.
Lopez is hoping for good news in regards to the whole situation he is going through with his work and his family. He had also filed a grievance with the agency.
