Dunno if you've ever taken PFL, but I have twice. It's not all roses. Your first 1-2 weeks (depending on company policy) is unpaid, ie you have to take PTO/vaca

Dunno if you've ever taken PFL, but I have twice. It's not all roses. Your first 1-2 weeks (depending on company policy) is unpaid, ie you have to take PTO/vacation. Then PFL pays 55% of your weekly salary, to a maximum of $1,104 -- essentially $52k. They dump it on some ghetto Bank of America debit card that you have to hook up to your bank account thru their 90s-fabulous website somehow... Except for the 40 hours part, OP's was exactly my experience. BigCo contracts out to some awful 3rd party that can't get their paperwork straight. I actually got notice that my leave was "approved" (as if they could disapprove?) AFTER I returned to work, that's how bad their process sucks. Don't even get me started about straightening out the bill for health insurance -- yeah, you have to pay your employer's share while you're on leave! Surprise! (I guess this might vary from company to company). Better than nothing I guess, but I think I'd rather have lower taxes and just take straight PTO.