Los Angeles Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyer

No. An employee has the right to take what is called “intermittent” leave for her pregnancy-related disability as needed. “Intermittent” leave is left and taken in small increments. These increments can be in hours, days, weeks, or months. For example, a pregnant employee, with her doctor’s advice, has the right to take a few hours of leave each day or on certain days because of severe morning sickness or for a doctor’s appointment or other prenatal care.

Yes, to the same extent and under the same conditions as would apply to any other unpaid disability leave granted by the employer for any reasons other than a pregnancy disability. An employee taking pregnancy disability leave (PDL) is entitled to the continuation of her health benefits for the entire duration of her leave, up to four months.

Yes, if the employee pays into State Disability Insurance (SDI) or the employer has a policy or practice of providing paid leave. An employee’s pay stub will reflect whether or not the employee pays into SDI. Employees who pay into SDI can collect partial wage replacement while on pregnancy disability leave.

Generally, either an employer or employee can choose to apply the employee’s paid sick leave during pregnancy disability leave. However, only an employee can decide to use her vacation or personal time off during her pregnancy disability leave; an employer cannot require her to do so.

Yes. An employee must give her employer verbal or written notice that she is taking the leave. Generally, if the need is foreseeable, she must give her employer 30 days’ notice. However, if she does not know that she will need to take a leave 30 days in advance, she only needs to give notice as soon as practicable. In her notice, an employee should tell her employer (1) the reason for taking leave (e.g., pregnancy disability) and (2) when and for how long she plans to take the leave.

Maybe. An employer may require medical certification only if the employee requires certification from other similarly situated employees. If so, the employee should obtain it from her medical provider. The certification should contain the following information:

1. A statement that the employee has a disability due to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition and because of the disability, she cannot perform an essential function of her position without undue risk to herself, the successful completion of her pregnancy, or to others;
2. The date on which the employee became/will become disabled and
3. The probable duration of the disability and whether or not the employee needs to take intermittent leave

A certification need not provide more information than what is described above. All medical information in a medical certification is confidential.

Yes. An employee generally has the right to return to the same position once her PDL leave is over unless, for legitimate business reasons unrelated to the employee’s pregnancy or leave, the employee would have been laid off even if she had not taken the leave. If the employer, for legitimate business reasons, cannot reinstate the employee to the same position, she is entitled to return to a comparable position if one is available.

An employer must respond to a request for pregnancy disability leave (PDL) as soon as possible but no later than ten days after the request. Suppose an employee asks about her rights regarding PDL or communicates her intent to exercise those rights. In that case, an employer must give the employee written notice about her rights as soon as practicable.

No. As long as the employee can still perform her essential job functions with reasonable accommodation, her employer may not force her to go on leave before she and her healthcare provider request it.

No. An employer cannot terminate, punish, refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate against an employee for being pregnant, for requesting or taking pregnancy disability leave, or for opposing any policy, practice, or action by her employer that she reasonably believes to be a violation of her pregnancy-related rights.

Yes, so long as the following conditions are met: (1) the employee works for an employer with five or more employees; (2) the employee’s healthcare provider recommends that the employee receives the transfer or other pregnancy-related accommodation; and (3) the requested transfer or accommodation is “reasonable.”

Whether or not an accommodation is “reasonable” depends on the individual situation. “Reasonable” accommodations might include:

• A temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position, if such a position is available
• More frequent or longer rest breaks
• Permission to sit on a stool or carry a water bottle
• Permission to work from home
• Modification or restriction of the employee’s job duties
• Assisting with lifting heavy objects
• Lactation accommodations when an employee returns from leave

Yes. An employee must give her employer either verbal or written notice that she is requesting an accommodation. Generally, if the need for transfer is foreseeable, she must give her employer 30 days’ notice. However, if she did not know 30 days in advance that she needed an accommodation, she only needs to give notice as soon as possible. In her notice, an employee should tell her employer: (1) the reason for requesting accommodation; and (2) when and for how long she will likely need the accommodation.

Maybe. An employer may require medical certification. If so, the employee should obtain it from her medical provider.

Yes, an employee generally has the right to return to the same position once she no longer needs the accommodation or transfer unless, for legitimate business reasons unrelated to pregnancy, the employee would not have been returned to the same position even if she had not received the accommodation. Suppose the employer cannot reinstate the employee to the same position for legitimate business reasons unrelated to pregnancy. In that case, she is entitled to return to a comparable position if one is available.

No. An employer cannot terminate, punish, refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate against an employee for being pregnant, for requesting or taking a pregnancy-related accommodation or transfer, or for opposing any policy, practice, or action by her employer that she reasonably believes to be a violation of her pregnancy-related rights.

Yes, an employee is eligible to take time off under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) if his or her employer has at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of his or her worksite, he or she has worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before taking the leave, and he or she has worked for his or her employer for at least a year.

If covered by CFRA, an employee can take up to 12 weeks per year of unpaid job-protected leave to bond with a newborn or newly adopted or fostered child, care for a spouse, domestic partner, parent, or child with a serious health condition, and/or because of his or her own serious health condition not related to pregnancy.

Bonding leave must be used and completed within 12 months of the child’s birth, adoption, or fostering. If the employee is eligible for both PDL and CFRA, bonding leave can be taken in addition to pregnancy disability leave (PDL).

No. Employees have the right to take their CFRA bonding leave in two-week blocks of time. On any two occasions, employees may take their CFRA leave in a smaller block of less than two weeks.

Yes, the employer must maintain and pay for the employee’s health coverage at the same level and under the same conditions as coverage would have been provided if the employee had been continuously employed during the entire leave period.

Yes, if the employee pays into State Disability Insurance (SDI) or the employer has a separate policy or practice of providing paid leave. An employee’s pay stub will reflect whether or not the employee pays into SDI. Employees who pay into SDI have a right to collect Paid Family Leave (PFL). PFL is a state program that allows an individual to collect partial wage replacement for up to 6 weeks to bond with a newborn, newly adopted, or newly placed foster care child, or to care for a family member with a serious health condition.

Either an employee or his or her employer can choose to apply the employee’s paid vacation time during bonding leave. However, an employee or employer can only apply for the employee’s paid sick leave during bonding leave if they both agree to do so.

Yes. Employees must give the employer verbal or written notice that he or she is taking the leave. Generally, if the need for leave is foreseeable, the employee must give the employer 30 days’ notice. However, if the employee does not know 30 days in advance that he or she needs to take a leave, he or she only needs to give notice as soon as possible. In the notice, the employee should tell his or her employer (1) the reason for taking leave (e.g., bonding with child) and (2) when and for how long he or she plans to take the leave.

No. An employee does not need medical certification to take bonding leave. However, an employee does need to provide a certification (e.g., a birth certificate) to the Employment Development Department (EDD) to receive PFL.

An employee generally has the right to return to the same or comparable position once his or her CFRA leave is over unless, for legitimate business reasons, the employee would have been laid off even if he or she had not taken the leave. However, certain exceptions apply to the top ten percent of the employer’s salaried employees.

An employer must respond to a request for CFRA qualifying leave as soon as practicable, but no later than 10 days after the request. An employer must grant bonding leave if the employee provides adequate notice.

Yes, if both parents are eligible for CFRA leave from their employers. If both parents work for the same employer, they may be limited to 12 weeks of bonding leave.

No. An employer cannot terminate, punish, refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate or retaliate against an employee for requesting or taking bonding leave (CFRA), or opposing any policy, practice, or action by the employer that he or she reasonably believes to be a violation of his or her (CFRA) rights.