Pregnancy Disability Leave Attorneys for Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Oxnard

What is “Pregnancy Disability?”

Pregnancy disability is usually determined by a healthcare provider and can refer to medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth that make it difficult for a woman to perform the essential functions of her job. An employee is “disabled by pregnancy” and entitled to a leave pursuant to the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (“PDLL”) if, in her health care provider’s opinion, she is: (1) unable to work; or (2) unable to perform any one or more of her essential job functions; or (3) unable “to perform these functions without undue risk to herself, the successful completion of her pregnancy, or to other persons.”

Pregnancy disability can include, but is not limited to:

Severe morning sickness.

Prenatal or postnatal care (e.g., doctor appointments, physical therapy).

Bed rest or other medically advised rest before giving birth.

Childbirth or recovery from childbirth.

Any other medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth.

What is the Duty of Employers to Accommodate Pregnancy Disability?

California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Laws allow employees disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition to take up to four months of protected leave. This period does not need to be taken continuously but can be utilized as needed during the actual period of disability caused by pregnancy. This leave is available to all California employees who work for an employer with at least five employees. Employees may also qualify for additional leave protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and/or the California Family Rights Act (CFRA).

It’s important to remember that while these laws provide a broad level of protection, the specific rights and responsibilities of both employers and employees can vary depending on the circumstances and jurisdiction.

Women in Southern California, including Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Oxnard, can contact Akopyan Law Firm A.P.C. if they believe they are being discriminated against due to pregnancy disability, or denied pregnancy disability leave to which they are entitled by law.

We offer complimentary consultations and may provide services on a contingency fee basis. We are widely recognized as one of the top employment law firms in Southern California, and we provide first class representation to our clients.

Compassionate Employment Lawyers on Your Side

Akopyan Law Firm A.P.C. can fight to enforce the rights of women who encountered pregnancy disability at work. We serve clients across Southern California, including Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Oxnard. When you call Akopyan Law Firm A.P.C., you speak directly to an attorney.  Call today to speak directly with a lawyer for representation in cases involving pregnancy disability in Los Angeles, Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, or Ventura Counties.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Pregnancy Disability

What is the California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law?
The California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law is a part of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act and requires employers to provide employees up to four months of leave for disability due to an employee’s pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. In addition, an employer may be required, under certain circumstances, to transfer an employee affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions to a different job.

What is the difference between Pregnancy Disability Leave Law and the California Family Rights Act?
A Pregnancy Disability Leave Law leave does not run concurrently with your rights for a 12-week leave under the California Family Rights Act. Rather, California Family Rights Act leave and pregnancy disability leave are two separate and distinct rights that employees have under California law.

I just gave birth. Can I take a California Family Rights Act leave after I take a 4-month Pregnancy Disability Leave Law leave for my newborn child?
Yes, provided you are eligible for California Family Rights Act leave and have not already exhausted your California Family Rights Act leave, following a pregnancy disability leave, you will still have the right to take such leave of up to 12 weeks “for reason of the birth of her child, if the child has been born by this date.” Because every case is different, you should contact an employment law attorney in Los Angeles to discuss your specific situation. Akopyan Law Firm A.P.C. provides complimentary case evaluations.

What is the maximum amount of time I can take for having just given birth to my baby? 
If you are eligible for California Family Rights Act leave, the maximum amount of both types of leave that is available to you is 4 months plus 12 work weeks (4 months of pregnancy disability leave under the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law, of which 12 weeks may also be Family Medical Leave Act leave, plus 12 workweeks of California Family Rights Act leave).

What if my employer only has 3 employees? Can I still take the 4-month Pregnancy Disability Leave Law leave?
Only employers with 5 or more employees are “covered” employers under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. So, if your employer does not have 5 or more employees, it is not required to give you a 4-month Pregnancy Disability Leave Law leave.

I have only worked for this company for 2 months; do I still get to take a 4-month Pregnancy Disability Leave Law leave?
Yes, if your employer has 5 or more employees, regardless of your length of employment, you are a “covered employee” under the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law. There is no length of service requirement for you to be eligible for Pregnancy Disability Leave Law leave like there is for California Family Rights Act or Family Medical Leave Act leave.

Does my employer have to pay me while I am out on Pregnancy Disability Leave Law leave?
Generally, Pregnancy Disability Leave Law leaves are unpaid unless your employer has a policy and practice of paying employees who go on other (non-pregnancy related) leaves. For example, if your employer pays or provides benefits to employees who are on a medical leave or disability leave, then they must do the same for a pregnancy leave.

I was fired while I was on Pregnancy Disability Leave Law leave. Do I have rights? 
Yes. The Pregnancy Disability Leave Law requires that your employer keep you employed and return you back to the same position you held before you took the leave. If you were fired while you were on Pregnancy Disability Leave Law leave, your rights may have been violated. Schedule a complimentary case evaluation with Akopyan Law Firm A.P.C. to discuss your case.

What if my employer got rid of my position while I was on leave? 
Generally speaking, you have no greater rights having taken a leave than you would have had if you continuously worked for the employer. However, you may have rights if the elimination of the position is a pretext.

My employer says that it cannot return me back to the same position after my Pregnancy Disability Leave Law leave. What now?
If you are returning from a pregnancy disability leave and cannot be reinstated in the same position, you generally have the right to be reinstated into an available comparable position. A comparable position (for which you are qualified) is deemed “available” if it is open when you are scheduled to return or within 60 calendar days thereafter. However, your employer is not required to reinstate you if there are no available open positions for which you are qualified.

Call Akopyan Law Firm A.P.C. at (818) 509-9975 today to schedule a complimentary case evaluation with our legal team.

Cal. Code Regs. tit. 2, § 11042 Pregnancy Disability Leave.

The following provisions apply to leave taken for disability because of pregnancy.

(a) Four-Month Leave Requirement for all Employers. All employers must provide a leave of up to four months, as needed, for the period(s) of time an employee is actually disabled because of pregnancy, even if an employer has a policy or practice that provides less than four months of leave for other similarly situated, temporarily disabled employees. Pregnancy disability leave does not need to be taken in one continuous period of time.

(1) Employees are eligible for up to four months of leave per pregnancy, not per year. A “four month leave” means time off for the number of days or hours the employee would normally work within four calendar months (one-third of a year or 17 ⅓ weeks). For a full time employee who works 40 hours per week, “four months” means 693 hours of leave entitlement, based on 40 hours per week times 17 ⅓ weeks.

(2) For employees who work more or less than 40 hours per week, or who work on variable work schedules, the number of working days that constitutes four months is calculated on a pro rata or proportional basis.

(A) For example, for an employee who works 20 hours per week, “four months” means 346.5 hours of leave entitlement. For an employee who normally works 48 hours per week, “four months” means 832 hours of leave entitlement.

(B) Leave on an intermittent leave or a reduced work schedule.

An employer may account for increments of intermittent leave using an increment no greater than the shortest period of time that the employer uses to account for use of other forms of leave, provided it is not greater than one hour. For example, if an employer accounts for sick leave in 30-minute increments and vacation time in one-hour increments, the employer must account for pregnancy disability leave in increments of 30 minutes or less. If an employer accounts for other forms of leave in two-hour increments, the employer must account for pregnancy disability leave in increments no greater than one hour.

(C) If a holiday falls within a week taken as pregnancy disability leave, the week is nevertheless counted as a week of pregnancy disability leave. If, however, the employer’s business activity has temporarily ceased for some reason and employees generally are not expected to report for work for one or more weeks, (e.g., a school closing for two weeks for the Christmas/New Year holiday or summer vacation or an employer closing the plant for retooling), the days the employer’s activities have ceased do not count against the employee’s pregnancy disability leave entitlement.

(3) Although all pregnant employees are eligible for up to four months of leave, if that leave is taken in one period of time, taking intermittent or reduced work schedule throughout an employee’s pregnancy will differentially affect the number of hours remaining that an employee is entitled to take pregnancy disability leave leading up to and after childbirth, depending on the employee’s regular work schedule.

(A) For example, a full-time employee, who normally works a 40-hour work week is entitled to 693 working hours of leave. If that employee takes 180 hours of intermittent leave throughout her pregnancy, she would still be entitled to take 513 hours, or approximately three months leading up to and after her childbirth.

(B) In contrast, a part-time employee who normally works 20 hours per week, would be entitled to 346.5 hours of leave. If that employee takes intermittent leave of 180 hours throughout her pregnancy, she would be entitled to only 166.5 more hours of leave, approximately two months of leave, leading up to and after her childbirth.

(4) Minimum Duration. Leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule when an employee is disabled because of pregnancy, as determined by the health care provider of the employee. An employer may account for increments of intermittent leave using the shortest period of time that the employer’s payroll system uses to account for other forms of leave, provided it is not greater than one hour, as set forth in section 11042(a)(2)(B).

(b) Employers with More Generous Leave Policies. If an employer has a more generous leave policy for similarly situated employees with other temporary disabilities than is required for pregnancy purposes under these regulations, the employer must provide the more generous leave to employees temporarily disabled by pregnancy. If the employer’s more generous leave policy exceeds four months, the employer’s return policy after taking the leave would govern, not the return rights specified in these regulations.

(c) Denial of Leave is an Unlawful Employment Practice. It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant pregnancy disability leave to an employee disabled by pregnancy.

(1) who has provided the employer with reasonable advance notice of the medical need for the leave, and

(2) whose health care provider has advised that the employee is disabled by pregnancy.

The employer may require medical certification of the medical advisability of the leave, as set forth in sections 11049(a) and (b), and 11050(b).

Contact Us When You Need an Employment Law Attorney in Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, or Ventura Counties

Call us today at (818) 509-9975 or contact us online to schedule a complimentary case evaluation. We have extensive experience in all aspects of employment law, including pregnancy disability cases.

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The litigation and trial attorneys of the Akopyan Law Firm, A.P.C. provide services throughout Southern California including but not limited to AdelantoAgoura HillsAlhambraAliso ViejoAltadenaAnaheimApple ValleyArcadiaArletaAtwater VillageAzuzaBakersfieldBaldwin ParkBanningBeaumontBellBell GardensBellflowerBeverly HillsBlytheBoyle HeightsBreaBrentwoodBuena ParkBurbankCalabasasCalimesaCamarilloCanoga ParkCanyon LakeCarsonCathedral CityCerritosChatsworthChino HillsChinoClaremontCoachellaColtonComptonCosta MesaCoronaCovinaCulver CityCypressDana PointDesert Hot SpringsDiamond BarDowneyDuarteEagle RockEast HollywoodEast Los AngelesEastvaleEcho ParkEl MonteEl SegundoEl SerenoEncinoFontanaFountain ValleyFullertonGardenaGarden GroveGlassell ParkGlendaleGlendoraGranada HillsHacienda HeightsHawthorneHemetHesperiaHighland ParkHighlandHollywoodHollywood HillsHuntington BeachHuntington ParkIndian WellsIndioInglewoodIrvineJurupa ValleyLa Canada FlintridgeLa-Crescenta MontroseLa HabraLa MiradaLa PalmaLa PuenteLa QuintaLa VerneLaguna BeachLaguna HillsLaguna NiguelLaguna WoodsLakewoodLake BalboaLake ElsinoreLake ForestLancasterLawndaleLincoln HeightsLoma LindaLong BeachLos AlamitosLos AngelesLos FelizLynwoodManhattan BeachMar VistaMaywoodMenifeeMission HillsMission ViejoMonroviaMontclairMontebelloMonterey ParkMoorparkMoreno ValleyMurrietaNewbury ParkNewhallNewport BeachNorcoNorth HillsNorth HollywoodNorthridgeNorwalkOntarioOrangeOxnardPacific PalisadesPacoimaPalos VerdesPalmdalePalm DesertPalm SpringsPanorama CityParamountPasadenaPerrisPico RiveraPlacentiaPomonaPorter RanchRancho CucamongaRancho MirageRancho Santa MargaritaRedondo BeachResedaRialtoRiversideRosemeadRowland HeightsSan BernardinoSan ClementeSan DimasSan GabrielSan FernandoSan JacintoSan Juan CapistranoSan PedroSanta AnaSanta ClaritaSanta MonicaSawtelleSeal BeachShadow HillsSherman OaksSilver LakeSimi ValleySouth El MonteSouth GateSouth PasadenaSouth WhittierStantonStudio CitySun ValleySunlandSylmarTarzanaTemeculaTemple CityThousand OaksToluca LakeTorranceTujungaTustinTwentynine PalmsUplandValenciaValley GlenValley VillageVan NuysVenturaVictorvilleWalnutWest CovinaWest HillsWest HollywoodWest Puente ValleyWestchesterWestminsterWestwoodWhittierWildomarWinnetkaWoodland HillsYorba Linda