The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act deems it unlawful for a firm employing more than 15 workers to not make reasonable accommodations for or to deny employment opportunities to an employee requesting reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions as long as there is not an undue burden on the employer’s operations. An employer may not require this employee to take leave, paid or unpaid, or retaliate against them for seeking accommodation.
Pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions would include fertility treatment, postpartum depression and the loss or termination of a pregnancy.
Enforceable by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Attorney General, this law brings other states’ pregnant employee protections in line with California’s.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) applies to employers of five or more employees and affords rigorous protection against discrimination for pregnancy related medical conditions. Since 1959 FEHA
The California Family Rights Act of 1993 (CFRA) provides additional rights to some employees, protecting their employment while they take leave for birth, adoption, foster care placement or serious health conditions.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act applies only to the steps companies must take to support pregnant and postpartum employees in the workplace. The EEOC enforces existing laws that protect those workers against discrimination or termination.
Pregnant or postpartum workers and employees undergoing assisted reproduction are now guaranteed the right to the interactive process of reasonably accommodating their specific needs.
If you have experienced discrimination for pregnancy or related conditions or have been retaliated against for seeking accommodations, contact the experienced attorneys at Lavi & Ebrahimian who will aggressively represent your claim, seeking damages and lost wages for you.