Pregnancy can often be a very happy time for families. However, if your employer does not share your joy related to your pregnancy, you can also experience frustration, anger or even panic if your job is threatened due to your status as a pregnant woman or new mother.
Both federal law and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) protect women relative to pregnancy-related conditions. Employers are required to treat job applicants and employees who are pregnant in the same way they would treat other applicants or employees with similar abilities and limitations.
At Yoosefian Law Firm, P.C., we understand how employers may behave to defend their unfair decisions, and how to fight for your rights in the workplace and demand accountability.
How Should My Employer Treat Me If I Say I Am Pregnant?
The guiding principle of employment law around pregnant workers is that an employer may not single out pregnant employees and require special procedures or tasks that are not required for other employees with similar limitations. For example:
- If an employee cannot perform a job’s tasks due to pregnancy, the employer must provide the same accommodations they would for any other temporarily disabled employee.
- Pregnant employees must be permitted to work as long as they are capable of performing their jobs.
- Employers must hold open a job for a pregnancy leave the same amount of time as they would for an employee on sick or disability leave.
What If I Was Fired After Pregnancy Leave?
California workers are protected in most cases by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and state FEHA regulations when they take pregnancy leave, but employers do not always play by the rules. Pregnancy terminations can be cloaked in other issues, such as performance or other factors. But if a decision can only be explained in retrospect by your pregnancy leave — for example, the timing coincides precisely with you beginning or ending of your leave — one of our lawyers can help you demonstrate there is strong circumstantial evidence of discrimination.
Protect Your Professional Standing And Your Workplace Rights
You deserve fair treatment before, during and after your pregnancy. Call our Glendale office at 818-275-8572 to set up a free case consultation with one of our attorneys, or use our online contact form.