San Francisco Pregnancy Discrimination Attorney Serving the Bay Area
If your employer has discriminated against you because of your pregnancy, California pregnancy discrimination attorneys at Bay Area Employment Lawyers Rand L. Stephens and Richard Koss will aggressively defend your California employment rights. Attorneys Rand L. Stephens and Richard N. Koss have over 33 years of combined experience litigating employment discrimination cases in both state and federal courts.
Two state laws, the California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, both address issues regarding leave during pregnancy and discrimination based on pregnancy. Although pregnancy discrimination is handled separately under the law, it does share features in common with both gender discrimination and disability discrimination. Below are highlights of both laws. Experienced Bay Area discrimination attorneys can advise you of your rights under these and other laws and guide you through the best course of action in your particular situation.
California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law
In California, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against a pregnant employee. The California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (PDLL) requires California employers to provide up to four months of leave to employees disabled by pregnancy. The four months can be taken all at once around the time of delivery, but can also be taken at any time throughout the pregnancy. PDLL also ensures that pregnant workers have reasonable accommodations for their pregnancy or pregnancy-related health problems. Under California law, pregnant employees may be transferred to a less strenuous position during their pregnancy and return to their prior position when they are able to do so. A California employee seeking leave under PDLL must give her employer 30 days’ advance notice before the leave is to begin, and the employer may require a written medical certification that the employee is disabled due to her pregnancy. Furthermore, a woman who takes a pregnancy leave and returns within the four-month period is guaranteed a return to her previous position. If that position is no longer available, the employer must provide a comparable position at the same pay level, if available.
In addition to pregnancy disability leave, employees may be eligible for addition leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) of up to 12 weeks for the purpose of bonding with their new child.
California Fair Employment and Housing Act
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits employers from discriminating against or harassing pregnant employees. FEHA allows a pregnant employee to take pregnancy leave only if she is disabled by her pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition, and the pregnancy leave does not need to be taken at one time. FEHA also mandates that pregnant workers have reasonable accommodations for their pregnancy or pregnancy-related health problems. A California employee seeking leave under FEHA must give her employer 30 days advance notice before the leave is to begin, and the employer may require a written medical certification that the employee is disabled due to her pregnancy. A California employer must guarantee the pregnant employee a return to her previous position if she returns within the four-month leave period. If that position is no longer available, the employer must provide a comparable position at a similar pay level.
Contact Experienced Lawyers in the San Francisco Area Today
If your employer discriminated against you because of your pregnancy, contact the experienced pregnancy discrimination attorneys of the Bay Area Employment Lawyers Rand L. Stephens and Richard Koss. Take action and call today for a consultation.
