Find an Employment Discrimination Attorney To File A Claim.
Basics of Pregnancy Rights under California Law
Employers must be aware of how both federal and state laws impact their operations. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act forbids you, as an employer, from handling a female employee differently because she is pregnant at the federal level. This ensures that you cannot fire or demote an employee because she is pregnant, among other things. You must also handle her the same as any other temporarily disabled employee if she is unable to do her job due to her pregnancy or a related illness.
California legislation goes even further, requiring all companies with at least five workers to offer up to four months of paid maternity leave (PDL). Depending on the general policies regarding other types of medical leave, you may or may not have to pay the employee during PDL. Your labor attorney will assist you in reviewing your leave policy at this time to ensure that your duties and your employees' rights are clear.
Regardless of whether PDL is paid or unpaid, the employee must be able to return to their previous job. You won't be able to replace the pregnant employee indefinitely. You must, however, make appropriate accommodations for a request for less strenuous or light work if it is available during an employee's pregnancy. And, as with all forms of state-mandated leave, the employee must have advance notice wherever possible–at least 30 days in the case of a foreseeable incident, such as the child's scheduled due date.
How Do Pregnancy Discrimination Laws in the United States and California Work?
Employers are prohibited from discriminating against a woman who is pregnant or suffering from pregnancy-related conditions under the federal Pregnancy Disability Act (PDA) and California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). California's rule, on the other hand, is more expansive than the federal version since it covers all employers with five or more employees. Employers with 15 or more jobs are covered by the PDA's anti-discrimination laws.
The main point of the pregnancy discrimination laws is that an employer cannot treat a pregnant employee differently than other workers or take unfair action against her because she is pregnant. As a result, it is illegal for an employer to:
- Refuse to employ
- Terminate or demote employees
- Take away the workplace opportunities that other employees receive
- Change your working hours, place, job responsibilities, or other conditions
- A pregnant woman should be treated differently than other workers.
Furthermore, if a person is impaired as a result of pregnancy or associated medical problems, an employer must have appropriate accommodations. Providing time off or changing the work schedule, responsibilities, or workspace in order for the employee to perform job tasks are examples. The only exception is if doing so will place an unfair burden or cost on the employer, which is a challenging requirement to follow. Consider one of our prescreened California Lawyers in your Cal Bar Attorney Search.
Is There a National Trend in Pregnancy Discrimination?
These and other incidents are part of a nationwide pattern. Too many employers also believe that motherhood and employment are incompatible and treat their female workers accordingly. More than 3,900 complaints of pregnancy discrimination were filed with federal, state, and local jobs authorities in 1997. There were 5,342 lawsuits filed in 2013. Loopholes in the law that permitted employers to discriminate against pregnant women have been filled over time. This should result in a decrease in the number of cases of pregnancy discrimination, not an increase. The figures from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on the other hand, tell a different story.
The bottom line: pregnancy discrimination continues to exist, despite the fact that it is illegal in California and around the country. Employers should be kept accountable for their acts if they break the rule.
Employees' Legal Options
There are procedural provisions for workers who have been exposed to pregnancy discrimination at work in order to preserve the employee's legal choices.
- File a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which regulates PDA-related discrimination cases
- Make a complaint to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), which is in charge of implementing the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
Depending on the number of workers, one or all of these remedies might be permissible and necessary. As previously stated, federal law only applies to businesses with 15 or more workers, while an employee, or her counsel, can file a complaint with the DFEH if the company employs 5 or more people.
An employee who does not have access to legal counsel can file a claim and request an investigation from the appropriate agency. The allegation may be settled by mediation, in which the employee and the employer try to work out their differences over pregnancy discrimination. Alternatively, an employee with legal representation may file the required paperwork with the appropriate agency to protect her legal rights and seek an automatic right to sue, allowing her to file in court if necessary. Money damages, lawyers' fees, and other forms of relief are among the remedies available in this procedure.
Our prescreened Los Angles employment lawyers will explain your legal rights under state and federal pregnancy employment laws. We've dealt with a wide range of pregnancy-related work problems, including:
- Pregnancy Disability Leave
- Pregnancy accommodations
- Disabilities associated with pregnancy and childbirth
- Requirements for baby bonding leave
- Options for Paternity Leave
- Guidelines should be reinstated following maternity leave.
- Rights to Breastfeeding
These cases can be complicated, and you'll need a professional employment lawyer to assess the specifics of your case. They will have the expertise and knowledge to manage any aspect of your argument.
Pregnancy-Related Harassment
While there are instances where an employer engages in deliberate or unintentional pregnancy discrimination, there are also instances where other employers or coworkers have abused a female employee because of her pregnancy. For example, if a pregnant woman is a single mother who is still relatively young, a coworker or employer could verbally bully her by making disparaging remarks. Because no two pregnancy discrimination situations are ever the same, it's crucial to consult with an employment lawyer about your situation to ensure you're aware of your options.
What types of accommodations do employers make for pregnant employees?
Employers must make appropriate accommodations for a pregnant employee upon her request and in compliance with her doctor's recommendation in order for her to fulfill her job duties while pregnant or suffering from a related medical condition. Employers may be expected to make adequate concessions to pregnant workers, such as a decrease in the weight an employee is required to carry, more bathroom breaks, or a move to a less strenuous position.
Accommodations
Employers are required by law to make fair allowances for employees who are disabled as a result of pregnancy. In this sense, a disability may refer to almost any medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. It can include prenatal or postnatal treatment, bed rest, gestational diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia, postpartum depression, childbirth or recovery from childbirth, or pregnancy loss or termination.
Which Type of Accommodations are You Entitled To?
A fair adjustment to the employer's normal business activities is referred to as accommodation. For example, if a woman has extreme morning sickness and informs her employer that her health care provider has advised her to start work later due to her morning sickness, the employer has an affirmative duty to accommodate her request because doing so will cause unnecessary hardship (a very high standard).
Furthermore, many pregnant women experience extreme fatigue. An employer should regularly approve an employee's request for a changed work schedule to remedy this, based on a physician's advice.
By placing an employee on maternity leave she has not asked, an employer cannot avoid the affirmative duty to have fair pregnancy accommodations. If an employee is unable to perform the basic functions of her work, she should be given priority in finding another open role. Alternatively, if the company has an industrially injured employee program, the pregnant employee should be put in it before her health care provider decides that she should be taken off work entirely.
Your Right to a Pregnancy Leave in California
Under California's Pregnancy Disability Leave Act, pregnant workers who work for a company of 5 or more employees may be entitled to unpaid leave. This legislation requires pregnant workers to take up to four months of maternity disability leave to cover the period they are injured as a result of pregnancy, childbirth, or other medical conditions. The inability to perform an important job function due to pregnancy without endangering the employee or her pregnancy is referred to as a disability.
Pregnancy disability leave is in addition to the leave provided under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) for caring for a sick baby or bonding with a new infant, which includes an additional 12 weeks of unpaid leave for parents of newborn children who meet the CFRA's eligibility criteria. The federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is in effect at the same time as California state law.
Employees are entitled to work-protected leave under the Pregnancy Disability Leave Act, the FMLA, and the CFRA, which means that, in most situations, the employer must allow the employee to return to the same job after the leave has finished. An employer must not interfere with a worker's leave rights or discriminate against a worker who requests or takes maternity disability leave. The employer can not consider the employee's leave when making job decisions like termination, promotion, or reinstatement.
Basics of Pregnancy Leave
The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not have a paid maternity leave requirement. There is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but it only requires parents to take unpaid leave to care for newborns or newly adopted children. Pregnancy is not protected, and only 12% of employers in the United States have paid family leave.
Paid family and medical leave or earned sick days laws have been passed in 12 states, including California. Employers in California are required to give up to four months of disability leave to a woman who is injured as a result of pregnancy, childbirth, or another medical condition. Any employer that provides more than four months of leave for a temporary disability must also offer the same period of leave for this disability.
The US Department of Labor is lobbying for more favorable maternity leave policies around the country. The campaign's mission is to show employers that family-friendly policies favor them as well. According to the campaign's website, providing paid leave has a number of advantages for employers, including higher job satisfaction and lower turnover.
Employer Benefits of Maternity Leave
- Paid maternity leave has social advantages as well. There are some of them:
- Contributing to economic growth by increasing female labor force participation.
- When parents are willing to continue working, there is a reduction in the need for public assistance.
- Increased birth weight, fewer premature births, and lower infant mortality are all positive results for mothers and infants.
Many employers in states that have paid maternity leave, such as California and New Jersey, claim that they save money by not having to replace employees who leave due to pregnancy-related reasons. This contradicts the widely held idea that offering paid maternity leave would damage a company's bottom line.
Other Benefits:
- In addition to the four months of paid maternity leave mandated by California statute, employers must also:
- Use sick leave and holiday time to extend your leave beyond four months. Even if her leave is less than four months, a woman can use her sick time to get paid for some of the unpaid time.
- Work for at least four months (in addition to the 12 weeks required by the California Family Rights Act)
- Continue to pay the employer's health insurance premiums that were accrued before the leave.
- In practice, provisions like this are much more complex, so if you have specific concerns about your right to maternity leave under California law, you can consult a California employment lawyer.
Other laws in California allow for extra unpaid time after a child is born or adopted. It also mandated a six-week paid parental leave and a short-term paid disability. While these services do not fully substitute an employee's salary, California is ahead of the curve as compared to other states.
Bonding Leaves for New Parents
Eligible workers may take up to 12 weeks of leave in the first year after the birth of their child or after adoption or placement of a child in foster care to bond with their new family member. This leave does not have to be taken all at once; it can be taken in two-week intervals (an employee can request shorter leaves twice). This applies to both fathers and mothers, and it's on top of any maternity leave you may have taken under California's Pregnancy Disability Leave Law. An employment law attorney in Los Angeles will help you with your legal issues.
Work Leave for Parents (for smaller companies)
Before a small employer's employee can take leave to bond with a new child after the child's birth, adoption, or foster care placement, the following conditions must be met:
- Within 75 miles of the employee's workplace, the employer must have at least 20 workers
- The employee has worked for the company for more than 12 months prior to the start of the leave period
- The employee worked for the company for at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months.
Bonding Leaves (for bigger companies)
Before an employee of a larger employer can take leave to bond with a new child after the child's birth, adoption, or foster care placement, the following conditions must be met:
- Within 75 miles of the employee's workplace, the employer must have at least 50 workers
- The employee has worked for the company for more than 12 months prior to the start of the leave period
- The employee worked for the company for at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months.
On Paternity Leave
New fathers are entitled to up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave. The time off can be used for any of the following:
- to form a bond with a child born to, adopted by, or put in foster care with the employee
- To care for the employee's parent, spouse, or child who is suffering from a serious illness
Because the employee is unable to perform the functions of their job due to a serious health condition, or because a family member (i.e., wife or child) is unable to perform the functions of their job due to a serious health condition, and the employee must provide care for that family member.
Lactation Rights
Unless it creates a "significant interruption" to the employer's operations, California employers must allow new mothers a fair amount of time to express breast milk (i.e., pump).
What constitutes a "significant disturbance" has no meaning. It is also unlikely to be discovered by a larger employer. Furthermore, since the word is ambiguous, an individual review is needed to decide if the break is a "significant interruption" before an employer can deny it.
Breastfeeding/Lactation Breaks
A fair effort must be made by an employer to include a private area for expressing breast milk. It cannot be a toilet stall and must be near to the employee's workplace.
Time
The lactation break must last for a sufficient period of time. While California law does not specify what constitutes a reasonable amount of time, federal regulations imply that 15 to 20 minutes might be insufficient. A working mother may be entitled to up to 30 minutes to express breast milk, depending on the frequency at which she needs to pump during the workday, the position of the lactation room, and other factors.
Are Lactation Breaks Paid?
The employer is not allowed to pay the nonexempt employee for time spent pumping if she takes a lactation break at a time other than her regular rest break. If a lactation break falls on the same day as a paid break (such as a rest break), the time must be paid. Employees who are exempt must be paying their daily salary regardless of whether they take time off during the day to pump breast milk.
Accommodation for Breastfeeding Employees
Employers must also make fair allowances for workers who have a disability-related to pregnancy or childbirth under the law. Lactation is considered a disorder linked to pregnancy and childbirth by the statute. This means that, if possible, an employer must move a mother to a less physically demanding or dangerous job or even allow her to work from home if it is appropriate.
Mothers who seek accommodation are covered by the statute. And if the accommodation is eventually refused, the employer cannot penalize, discriminate against, or fire a mother who demanded it.
What if Your Employer Retaliates?
Retaliation against workers who report employment discrimination, harassment, or other practices covered by employment laws is illegal under federal and state laws. Unlawful firing, demotion, abusive treatment, or other unjust acts can be used as retaliation.
Workers who support other employees in filing employment discrimination lawsuits are covered by the same rules. It is illegal to retaliate against an employee for filing a report of employment discrimination or assault or for supporting another employee who has been discriminated against in filing a complaint.
Even if employment discrimination cannot be confirmed, employees are shielded from retaliation if they have a fair suspicion that it happened. If an employer retaliated against an employee for filing or engaging in a discrimination or harassment complaint, the employee might be entitled to compensation.
What are Protected Activities?
Retaliation against workers who engage in protected conduct is illegal under a variety of laws. Employees who file employment discrimination lawsuits based on ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, or membership in any other protected class are protected under these laws. Employees who have complained of abuse or a hostile work environment are also covered by these laws. Employees, on the other hand, are not safe from retaliation if they do not disclose illegal behavior.
Job discrimination laws protect the following activities:
- Making a verbal or written discrimination or harassment report to an employer, such as a supervisor or human resources
- Using a state or federal entity to file a discrimination lawsuit
- Filing a case in court for discrimination
- Unwelcome sexual advances are resisted or rejected.
- Taking the stand as a witness in a workplace discrimination case
- Answering concerns about employment discrimination raised by an investigator
- Investigating wage inequality by questioning coworkers about their pay.
- Refusing to discriminate against an employee on the basis of an employer's request
- Other labor laws forbid retaliation against workers who seek compensation that the statute guarantees. An employer, for example, cannot retaliate against an employee simply because the employee makes the following request:
- Under the Family and Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act, you will take medical leave.
- A disability facility under the Americans with Disabilities Act or state law
- A pregnancy accommodation is made under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act or state law.
- Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or state law, religious practice can be accommodated.
What is workplace retaliation and why it is illegal
Any adverse action was taken against an employee for reporting or endorsing another employee's report of discrimination or harassment that violates federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws are considered retaliation. The following are some of the most common forms of retaliation:
- Termination
- Harassment of an employee
- lowering the employee's salary or hours
- Placing the employee in a less desirable position or on a less desirable shift
- Providing an unfavorable performance appraisal to the employee
- Increasing the degree of scrutiny imposed on the employee's job
- Making unreasonably high demands on a worker
- Threatening to terminate the employee
Some retaliation is overt, whereas others are more subtle. Any employee who claims they have been fired in retaliation for filing or engaging in an employment discrimination lawsuit should seek legal counsel immediately.
An employer may not discriminate against a pregnant employee for requesting or taking pregnancy disability leave or for objecting to any policy, procedure, or behavior by her employer that she reasonably feels violates her pregnancy-related rights.
Employees are protected from pregnancy discrimination by a variety of regulations, including:
- Parts 12921, 12926, and 12940(a) of the California Government Code (prohibits discrimination based on gender, pregnancy, and related medical conditions)
- Section 12945(a)(4) of the California Government Code (prohibits an employer from interfering with, restraining the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any rights under the Pregnancy Disability Law Leave)
- Section 12945.2(l)(1) of the California Government Code states, "It shall be an unfair work practice for an employer to discharge or discriminate against any person because of... [a]n individual's exercise of the right to family care and medical leave."
- 11043, 2 CCR (guarantees employee the right to be reinstated to the same or a comparable position at the conclusion of Pregnancy Disability Law Leave)
- Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 42 USC Section 2000(e) (prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy)
- Article I, Section 8 of the California Constitution (prohibits discrimination against workers on the basis of sex, including pregnancy, without restriction, demoting an employee, reducing an employee's hours without consent, reducing an employee's salary without consent, or dismissing an employee from employment)
When it Leads to Wrongful Termination
In California, most employment relationships are considered "at-will," which means that an employer may terminate an employee at any time for any reason, good or bad. Employers, on the other hand, cannot fire employees for reasons that are illegal or in violation of essential public policy.
When an employee is fired for a cause that is illegal under California or federal statute, legislation, or policy, it is known as unfair termination. Specific employment laws ban certain terminations, but California courts still consider wrongful terminations that violate public policy. Rather than focusing on the relationship between a particular employer and its employee, public policy entails a fundamental interest of the general public. As a result, a public policy is based on state or federal legislation or regulations.
Employees in Los Angeles who have been fired for behavior that is protected by legislation or municipal policy are represented by wrongful termination attorneys. Employees who were fired without cause are often entitled to back pay, emotional distress payments, and, in some cases, extra benefits.
What is the concept of wrongful termination in contravention of public policy?
A variety of California and federal laws make it illegal to fire an employee for engaging in behavior that is protected by the statute. Here are some examples:
- Complaining about or disclosing acts of discrimination or abuse if the employee has reasonable grounds to believe the acts are in violation of state or federal employment laws.
- Assisting another employee in filing a discrimination or abuse lawsuit or taking part in legal proceedings related to another employee's complaint
- Using state or federal employment legislation to seek an appropriate accommodation for a disability or religious practice.
- Taking or requesting a medical or family leave that is permitted by state or federal statute.
- Obtaining overtime or minimum wage pay, making a wage lawsuit, or exercising other rights covered by state or federal wage laws, such as the California Labor Code.
- Health and safety violations should be reported to state or federal agencies with the power to respond to employee grievances, such as Cal/OSHA.
- Refusing to operate in conditions that are hazardous to one's health or welfare.
- Reporting wrongdoing as a result of a state or federal whistleblower program
- Serving on a jury or complying with a subpoena.
- Reporting unlawful or fraudulent acts involving clients or consumers by an employer.
Discussing or talking about salaries and working conditions with coworkers, discussing the need for a trade union, or participating in other practices covered by the National Labor Relations Act are all examples of protected activities.
Whistleblowing
Employees who report bribery or other criminal activity in the workplace, either directly to management or externally to relevant authorities, are known as corporate whistleblowers. Employees who disclose employer wrongdoing or refuse to participate in criminal activities are covered by both California and federal laws.
When California whistleblowers are fired for behavior that is covered by whistleblower rules, the employment lawyers assist them in obtaining compensation.
What exactly is a whistleblower?
A whistleblower is described by California law as an employee who reveals any of the following corporate wrongdoings:
- A state or federal rule breach
- Non-compliance with government regulations
- Working in hazardous environments or in an unsafe setting
- A supervisory role
- An employee of a corporation whose role entails investigating or fixing a breach.
- A federal department in charge of overseeing the employer's operations.
- a law enforcement organization
Employees who provide information about or testify during a federal inquiry or hearing into this type of wrongdoing are often protected under whistleblower laws. Employees are also entitled to whistleblower immunity if they refuse to comply with an employer's orders to engage in illegal activity, such as fraud.
What are any examples of whistleblowing that you might think of?
Whistleblowing is described as reporting any violation of a state or federal law or regulation to the appropriate authority. Reporting is a common example:
- Billing that is not accurate
- Accounting thievery
- False claims made on business tax returns
- Falsified test results in order to satisfy performance requirements, such as those imposed by government contracts
- OSHA codes or other health and safety rules are broken.
- Environmental rules are being broken.
- Discrimination and harassment in the workplace
- Disparities in employee pay based on gender
- Infractions of the wage and hour laws (such as a failure to pay required overtime)
- Products that do not meet safety requirements are manufactured or sold.
Refusing to engage in unlawful behavior, such as dumping waste products into a river or sending a subordinate into a hazardous working atmosphere, is also covered under whistleblowing rules.
Whistleblowers are covered by what laws?
One of the most relevant California laws prohibiting employers from retaliating against whistleblowers is section 1102.5 of the Labor Code. The law clearly states that an employer cannot discriminate against an employee for revealing information to a supervisor or other individual with authority over the employee if the employee has fair cause to believe the information reveals a violation of state or federal law. Whistleblowers are also covered by other California rules.
Whistleblowers who disclose violations of federal regulations are covered by around a half-dozen federal laws. The following are some of the most famous federal whistleblower cases:
- Workplace security
- Security of the environment
- Consumer security
- False claims made to the company's shareholders
Other federal laws provide protection to employees who report federal government fraud (such as falsifying bills submitted by a doctor for payment by Medicare).
Whistleblowers are afforded what protections?
A whistleblower who is dismissed as a result of taking action covered by whistleblower laws will sue the contractor for back pay and reinstatement. Whistleblowers are shielded even though an internal or government inquiry finds no wrongdoing, as long as they had a fair expectation at the time of reporting that they were reporting real misconduct.
Other remedies may be available, such as damages for loss of reputation, punitive damages, or an injunction barring the employer from continuing to engage in unlawful behavior.
Find an Employment Lawyer in Los Angeles
1000Attorneys.com is a California Bar Association Certified Free Attorney Referral Service that can refer you to the best Los Angeles Labor Law Attorney that's fit to handle your unique case. You can contact us through our 24/7 live chat or complete our submission form for a free initial consultation.
0 Comments