Pregnancy discrimination is against the law.
If you are employed in California, you are protected by both state and federal laws from discrimination on the basis of pregnancy — whether you are pregnant currently or trying to become pregnant. Yet despite this protection, many employers continue to discriminate against employees who are or become pregnant. Understanding your rights is often the first step to preventing pregnancy discrimination. If you have been discriminated against at work because you are pregnant, an employment law attorney can help you determine if you have grounds for a claim.
One of the strongest protections against discrimination is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, a federal statute that amended Title VII of the Civil Rights At of 1964. This statute prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, and requires that women affected by these conditions are to be treated the same for all employment-related purposes. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), pregnancy is not considered a disability. However, if a person has complications due to a pregnancy, it could be considered a disability that must be accommodated under federal law. Under California law, employers are required to provide up to four months of disability leave for women who are disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.
Importantly, if you become pregnant while you are employed, you cannot be lawfully fired because of your pregnancy. Similarly, an employer cannot refuse to hire you because you are pregnant. However, many employers will not state that this is the reason that they are not hiring a person or that they are firing a person, and will come up with another reason instead. A skilled employment law attorney can assist you in looking for signs that you were actually discriminated against due to pregnancy. For example, if you were told not to come back from your maternity leave because the company is downsizing but you know that new employees have been hired, that may be a sign that your firing was related to your pregnancy. Or if you learn that a less qualified candidate was hired instead of you for a particular job — and that candidate was not pregnant, but you are — then that may be an indication that you were discriminated against because you are pregnant.
While federal and California law prohibit pregnancy discrimination, neither federal nor state law require employers to provide paid leave to employees during or after a pregnancy. The Family and Medical Leave Act FMLA) is a federal law that requires employers who are covered by the act to provide at least 12 weeks of unpaid leave for qualified reasons, which includes leave to care for a newborn or adopted child. The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) may allow employees to take additional leave to care for their babies or adopted children, although employers are not required to pay employees for this leave.
Pregnancy discrimination happens far too often in the United States, and can be difficult to prove. An experienced employment law attorney can help you build a strong case to demonstrate that you have been discriminated against due to pregnancy or a related condition. At PLBH, our attorneys are seasoned in all aspects of employment law, including discrimination related to pregnancy. Contact our office today at (800) 435-7542 or info@plblaw.com to schedule a free initial consultation and learn more about how we can help you if you have suffered workplace discrimination.