Pregnancy discrimination occurs when an employee or female applicant is treated unfairly due to pregnancy, giving birth, or a medical condition due to pregnancy or childbirth.  Every year, thousands of women file pregnancy discrimination charges.  To help you, we will provide the basic facts that you should know about pregnancy discrimination and how the law protects you.

Pregnancy Discrimination Includes:

• Not hiring an applicant because she is pregnant
• Terminating or laying off an employee because she is pregnant
• Withholding a promotion due to pregnancy
• Withholding benefits due to pregnancy
• Withholding pregnancy benefits from a female who is not married

Federal Law Prohibits Pregnancy Discrimination

The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) protects female employees or job applicants against discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, abortion, or related medical conditions.  PDA applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

PDA protections include:

• Hiring and Termination
• Pregnancy and Maternity Leave
• Health Insurance

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) covers employees who have worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months at a firm that employs at least 50 employees within 75 miles.

FMLA stipulates that employers must allow an employee to take up to 12 weeks off within a 12-month period for any of the following:

• Birth of a child
• Adoption of a child
• Foster care placement of a child
• Caring for a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition
• An employee's own serious health condition

Companies with five or more employees are prohibited to discriminate based on pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to either circumstance under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

FEHA's Pregnancy Discrimination Protection includes:

• Up to 4 months of disability leave regardless of her length of employment or the amount of hours she works.
• The employer must maintain and continue the employee's health insurance coverage for up to 4 months while a woman is out for pregnancy disability leave.

We understand this subject is a personal matter and we can provide more detail to help you.  If you have questions about pregnancy discrimination or feel you have been a victim and need a pregnancy discrimination attorney to assist you, please call us.  You can reach us toll free at (818) 990-8300.

Additional Resources

EEOC on Pregnancy Discrimination