Pregnancy Discrimination

Discrimination & Harassment

Pregnancy Discrimination

Unfortunately, some employers harbor negative stereotypes about employees who are pregnant and their ability to work. California and federal laws provide protection against discrimination or harassment based on pregnancy. If you are confused about your rights, feel mistreated by your employer at work while pregnant or just are having a child and want to know your rights, please reach out for a free consultation to evaluate your claims.

Offering Experienced Legal Counsel Against Pregnancy Discrimination

It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against a woman based on pregnancy. State and federal laws protect women against this form of discrimination in all aspects of employment, including interviewing, hiring, firing and promoting.

What is Pregnancy Discrimination?

Pregnancy discrimination occurs when an employer takes a negative action against an employee or job applicant. Federal and state laws prohibit pregnancy discrimination, so it's important to contact Salusky Law Group if you feel you are a victim of unfair practices.

Examples of pregnancy discrimination include employers taking the following actions against a pregnant employee:

  • Firing or termination
  • Refusal or failure to hire
  • Failure to provide equal training opportunities
  • Failure to Promote
  • Changing job assignments without a valid reason
  • A demotion
  • Asking a female applicant whether she intends to become pregnant

Your Rights When You're Pregnant

If your employer has five or more employees, you are entitled to protections under California state law in the event of a pregnancy, welcoming a new child, loss of a pregnancy and related physical and mental conditions. These protections include the right to reasonable accommodations and the right to time off from work. It is illegal for an employer to fire, refuse to hire, harass or otherwise discriminate against someone because of pregnancy or childbirth.

If you have at least 12 months of service with your employer (and have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours during the previous 12-month period) and your employer employs at least 20 employees within 75 miles of your worksite, you are entitled to take up to 12 weeks of parental leave to bond with a new child within one year of the child’s birth, adoption or foster care placement.

Contact Us To Discuss Your Case

f you have experienced pregnancy-related discrimination in the workplace, contact an attorney at Salusky Law Group. Call us at (562) 855-0004 to schedule a case evaluation.

Pregnancy Discrimination Frequently Asked Questions & Information


Pregnant employees may suffer from medical conditions during pregnancy and after childbirth. It is illegal for employers to discriminate against these employees. Examples of medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth include:

  • Back pain
  • Gestational diabetes
  • Pre-eclampsia
  • Conditions that require bed rest
  • Lactation issues

A pregnancy disability is a physical or mental condition related to pregnancy or childbirth that prevents you from performing essential duties of your job, or if your job would cause undue risk to you or your pregnancy’s successful completion. Your health care provider should determine whether or not you have a pregnancy disability.

Examples of pregnancy disability include severe morning sickness, prenatal or postnatal care, need for bed rest, gestational diabetes, pregnancy induced hypertension, preeclampsia, post-partum depression, lactation conditions such as mastitis, loss or end of pregnancy, and recovery from loss or end of pregnancy.

You may be entitled to accommodations if you have a pregnancy related disability. Accommodations are changes to the work environment that allow you to perform your job. Examples of accommodations are:

  • Modifying work duties to be less strenuous.
  • Use of a stool or chair while performing work duties.
  • Temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous job.
  • Longer or more frequent breaks.
  • Private lactation accommodations.
  • Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL).
  • Additional leave as a reasonable accommodation at the end of PDL.

Whether you are entitled to any particular accommodation will depend on the circumstances of your pregnancy-related disability.

A reasonable accommodation is a change in the work environment or the way a job is done in order to accommodate your work restrictions due to your pregnancy while still performing the essential functions of your job. This can include taking more leave from work.

Pregnancy Disability Leave, or PDL, is leave from work to accommodate employees with a pregnancy related disability. Your health care provider will recommend how long you need to take leave from your job. You are entitled to up to four months of PDL per pregnancy. (Code of Regulations, Title 2 section 11042). This leave is in addition to any other leave for which you may be eligible under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”), other state laws and local ordinances, or your employer’s leave policies. If your employer has a policy of providing more than four months of leave for other disabilities, then your employer must also provide you the same leave, if required by your pregnancy-related disability.

If your employer has 5 or more employees and you have a pregnancy disability, you are eligible for PDL. There is no minimum requirement for the number of hours or years worked in order to be eligible. Your health care provider should recommend PDL in order for you to apply for it.

No. You may take your PDL all at once or intermittently. Intermittent PDL is taking leave in small increments, which can be hours, days, weeks or months. This could mean taking a few hours off each day or weeks at a time.

An example could be working 6 hours per day instead of 8. Another examples is working 4 days per week instead of 5.

Yes. Your employer is required to reinstate you to your original job after you are no longer disabled by pregnancy. In some situations, you may be reinstated to a comparable job (i.e., same tasks, skills, benefit and pay).

You are entitled to breaks while at work to express milk in a private location. You may be entitled to Pregnancy Disability Leave (“PDL”) for lactation-related medical conditions such as mastitis.

No. It is illegal for an employer to terminate, punish, refuse to hire, harass or discriminate against you for taking PDL or for requesting a reasonable accommodation due to your pregnancy-related condition.

Complimentary Consultations for your legal matter from Salusky Law Group

Do You Believe You Have Suffered Discrimination?

If you believe you have suffered discrimination in the workplace, do not wait to act. Call us at (562) 855-0004, or Contact Us. Our consultations are complimentary.

Contact Us

Do You Believe You Have Suffered Discrimination?

If you believe you have suffered discrimination in the workplace, do not wait to act. Call us at (562) 855-0004, or Contact Us. Our consultations are complimentary.

Contact Us