California has some of the strongest employment protections of any state in the country, especially when it comes to combating discrimination and inequality. Still, employees —especially women—across the state continue to face the challenges of pregnancy discrimination and unequal pay.
These issues are deeply interconnected: Women are disproportionately affected by biased employment practices, and systemic pay disparities often worsen financial insecurity during and after pregnancy.
At Justice Law Corporation, our California discrimination lawyers help working people fight back to protect their rights on the job and ensure that they are fairly paid. We are seasoned litigators who have dedicated our careers to assisting people in these cases. Our firm is proud of its track record of success for clients, including a number of settlements and verdicts for pay and discrimination claims.
It is vital to understand how the law defines and addresses pregnancy discrimination and pay inequality. Here is what you need to know.
What is Pregnancy Discrimination?
Pregnancy discrimination occurs when an employer treats a worker unfairly due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. It can arise in a number of different ways, from hiring and promotions to job assignments, workplace accommodations, leave policies, and even termination decisions.
Some common examples include:
- Refusing to hire a qualified candidate because she is visibly pregnant or might become pregnant
- Denying reasonable accommodations such as modified duties, lighter workloads, or additional rest breaks
- Requiring an employee to take leave when she is able and willing to work
- Passing over a pregnant employee for promotion opportunities due to stereotypes about her commitment or availability
- Firing or demoting an employee upon returning from maternity leave
- Creating a hostile environment through derogatory comments or harassment related to pregnancy or parenthood
Sometimes, the discrimination is obvious. Even now, some employers openly make employment decisions based on employees’ pregnancies or do little to veil their bias against pregnant workers. Discriminatory behavior can be harder to identify, however, in many other situations.
A California discrimination lawyer at our firm can help you explore whether you have a claim and weigh your options for taking action.
Legal Protections for Pregnant Workers
A web of state and federal laws ban employers in California from discriminating against workers who are pregnant, could become pregnant in the future, or because they recently had a child. This type of bias is often treated as a form of sex discrimination, but there are a number of specific protections when it comes to the mistreatment of pregnant employees.
The laws generally prohibit discrimination against pregnant workers. They also entitle those workers to certain reasonable accommodations on the job. State and federal laws additionally guarantee that employees can take time off before and after they give birth without risking losing their jobs.
Employers are barred from retaliating against employees for exercising their rights. That means they cannot fire, demote, or otherwise take action against workers who seek reasonable accommodations, take pregnancy-related time off, or file claims alleging discrimination.
Pregnancy-Related Time Off
Pregnant workers in California have the right to take unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act and the California Family Rights Act.
Both laws guarantee that eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave related to childbirth. They also require employers to reinstate employees in their same positions when they return from leave.
Workers in California can use this leave time for both childbirth and recovery, as well as for bonding with a newborn child. It can be used for up to 12 weeks in a 12-month period.
To be eligible for leave under the California and federal laws, employees must have worked a certain amount of hours in the previous 12 months. Their employers must have five or more employees under the California law, while the federal law covers employers with 50 or more employees.
Some workers in California can get an additional four months of unpaid leave if they become disabled due to pregnancy or childbirth. This pregnancy disability leave is in addition to CFRA leave, meaning some employees may qualify for nearly seven months of unpaid, job-protected leave. It includes time off for pre- or post-natal care, along with severe morning sickness, doctor-ordered bed rest, childbirth, recovery from childbirth, the loss or end of a pregnancy, and other related medical conditions.
Reasonable Accommodations
Reasonable accommodation rights are some of the most important protections for pregnant workers in California. These employees may need adjustments to their schedules, duties, or work environment to stay healthy and continue performing their jobs.
Accommodations are designed to help employees continue to work during pregnancy without jeopardizing their health and safety.
Some of the most common reasonable accommodations include:
- Light work: Pregnant people often are advised by their doctors to avoid engaging in strenuous activity, like lifting heavy objects.
- Seating: Allowing a stool or chair at a workstation or adjusting a desk setup for comfort.
- Schedule adjustments: Flexible start or end times to allow workers to make doctor appointments.
- Rest breaks: Taking additional breaks to rest, get water, or use the restroom regularly to help manage fatigue and physical strain
- Remote work: This can be particularly helpful for pregnant workers dealing with morning sickness or ordered bed rest.
- Job transfer: Temporarily transferring the employee to a less strenuous or hazardous position.
- Lactation accommodations: Providing time and a private space to pump breast milk after childbirth.
Whether these and other accommodations are “reasonable” depends largely on the specific circumstances.
Employers must provide accommodations that do not cause “undue hardship,” meaning significant difficulty or expense in relation to the size, resources, or operations of the business. Remote work is not likely to be feasible for someone who works in a restaurant kitchen or as a food server, for example. Scheduling changes for doctor appointments and temporary changes in duties to limit physical strain are generally going to be considered reasonable, however.
Undue hardship is a high bar. Minor inconveniences, temporary costs, and administrative adjustments are not enough to justify denying accommodations. California law generally favors employee rights, requiring employers to find ways to accommodate unless it is genuinely impractical.
Communication is Key: The Reasonable Accommodation Process
Employers are required to engage in an interactive process when an employee requests a reasonable accommodation. The process is meant to be an ongoing, good-faith dialogue to identify effective accommodations.
Here is how it works.
Employee Request: The employee does not need to use legal terms like “reasonable accommodation.” A simple statement that she needs help due to pregnancy is enough to trigger the process.
Employer Response: The employer must respond promptly and discuss possible options. Ignoring the request or delaying unreasonably may be a violation.
Medical Documentation: Employers may request a doctor’s note confirming the need for accommodation, but they cannot demand excessive or unrelated medical details.
Collaboration: Both the employer and employee should suggest possible accommodations. The employer does not have to provide the employee’s preferred option, but it must provide an effective one if possible.
California law requires employers to engage in the interactive process, even if there ultimately is no feasible accommodation.
Enforcing Your Rights On The Job
There are a number of steps that a person who believes she has been discriminated against because of a pregnancy can take to pursue a claim.
It typically starts with an internal complaint. You can notify a manager, supervisor, or human resources about the discrimination. You are not required to take this step before filing a claim, but internal complaints show that the employee tried to resolve the issue before escalating to legal action. You can also send a demand letter stating that you intend to take legal action if your employer does not stop discriminating against you.
Most workers pursuing pregnancy discrimination claims must submit a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department before filing a lawsuit in court. You can instead go to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for claims based on violations of federal law.
The CRD or EEOC will review the complaint and decide whether to investigate. If it chooses not to investigate, the agency will issue a “right to sue” letter, which gives you the green light to go to court.
Courts in pregnancy discrimination cases can issue a wide range of remedies. Some of the most common include:
- Back pay and lost wages: Compensation for wages and benefits the employee lost because of the discrimination.
- Front pay: If reinstatement is not practical, courts may award front pay to cover future earnings the employee would have received had the discrimination not occurred.
- Reinstatement or promotion: Courts or agencies can order the employer to reinstate an employee who was terminated or demoted due to pregnancy. They can also order the employer to promote someone who was passed over for an opportunity because of pregnancy.
- Policy changes and accommodations: Forcing the employer to do what it should have done from the beginning and take steps to ensure other workers are not discriminated against in the future.
- Non-economic damages: In some cases, a worker who has been discriminated against can also get compensation for emotional distress caused by the situation.
- Punitive damages: Additional money damages are awarded in limited situations in which an employer is found to act recklessly or with malice. These damages are intended to punish the employer for bad behavior.
- Attorney’s fees and court costs: California law authorizes prevailing employees to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs.
A California discrimination lawyer at our firm will help you build the strongest possible claim and maximize the damages available under the law.
Pay Inequality in California
Pregnancy discrimination covers specific actions related to pregnancy. Pay inequality is part of the broader issue of workplace gender discrimination.
Women in California, like elsewhere, often face unequal pay for substantially similar work compared to their male counterparts. The wage gap is even wider for women of color and mothers, demonstrating how gender, race, and parental status intersect to create compounded disadvantages.
There are a number of factors that have allowed such inequality to persist, despite strong legal protections for workers in California.
Motherhood Penalty: Women often experience reduced wages after becoming mothers, stemming from stereotypes that they are less committed or less capable.
Occupational Segregation: Women are overrepresented in lower-paying industries and underrepresented in higher-paying fields like technology or finance.
Negotiation Bias: Studies show women may be penalized socially or professionally for negotiating aggressively for higher pay.
Lack of Pay Transparency: Although California now protects employees who discuss wages, cultural norms still discourage open conversation about pay.
The good news is that people who have been unfairly paid have the right to take action.
California law requires employers to pay employees the same for substantially similar work. It also places the burden on employers to explain differences in pay for workers doing substantially similar work. The law protects workers who share information with each other about wages, salaries, benefits, and other terms of their jobs and bans employers from retaliating against employees for exercising their rights.
The legal remedies available in these cases include:
- Unpaid wages
- Interest on back pay
- Liquidated damages (doubling the unpaid wages amount)
- Emotional distress
- Punitive damages
- Attorney’s fees and court costs
Our California discrimination lawyers can help you determine if you have a claim. We can also help you take action, on behalf of yourself or a larger group of employees, to get the money you are owed.
Our California Discrimination Lawyers Can Help
If you believe that you are being shortchanged on the job, whether it is by being underpaid or in other terms and conditions, you do not need to go it alone.
A California discrimination lawyer at Justice Law Corporation can help you evaluate your claim and understand your rights and options. We have a strong track record of optimal results through verdicts and settlements for the people that we represent.
Our office is conveniently located in Pasadena. Contact us at (818) 230-7502 to schedule a free consultation with a California discrimination lawyer.
