Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyer in Rancho Cucamonga

What California & Federal Law Prohibit

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Government Code section 12940, prohibits employers with five or more employees from discriminating against workers because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Because only people who can become pregnant are affected, California treats this as a form of sex discrimination.

At the federal level, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to reach the same conclusion: discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions is sex discrimination. Prohibited conduct under both laws includes refusing to hire, firing, demoting, cutting pay, or otherwise treating an employee unfavorably because of pregnancy.

Leave Rights & Accommodation Obligations

California law provides substantial job-protected leave rights for pregnant employees. Understanding them helps you recognize when an employer has fallen short.

• Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL): Employees disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition are entitled to up to four months of job-protected leave per pregnancy. There’s no minimum hours or tenure requirement to qualify.
• California Family Rights Act (CFRA) bonding leave: Eligible employees can take an additional 12 weeks of job-protected leave to bond with a new child within one year of birth, adoption, or foster placement. CFRA leave is separate from and in addition to PDL.
• Reasonable accommodations: FEHA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related conditions, such as more frequent rest breaks or a temporary transfer to lighter duty, through a good-faith interactive process. That process is a required back-and-forth discussion between employer and employee to identify workable solutions.
• Retaliation protection: An employer can’t punish an employee for requesting leave, taking leave, or asking for a pregnancy-related accommodation.

Recognizing Unlawful Treatment at Work

Pregnancy discrimination doesn’t always look like an obvious termination. It can surface in subtler ways that are just as unlawful under FEHA and federal law.

• Termination or demotion shortly after disclosing a pregnancy
• Denial of a promotion or raise tied to upcoming maternity leave
• Reduction in hours or pay following a pregnancy announcement
• Refusal to engage in the interactive process or denial of a reasonable accommodation request
• Failure to reinstate an employee to the same or a comparable position after PDL or CFRA bonding leave

Timing matters in these cases. A demotion that follows a pregnancy disclosure by days or weeks is exactly the kind of fact pattern that warrants a closer legal review.

Filing a Claim: Process & Potential Remedies

Before filing a lawsuit, employees must generally file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Because the two agencies have a worksharing agreement, a complaint filed with one is typically cross-filed with the other automatically.

A CRD complaint must generally be filed within three years of the discriminatory act. Employees can request an immediate right-to-sue notice rather than waiting for the agency to complete its investigation, which allows a lawsuit to move forward more quickly. Deadlines in employment matters are strict, and missing them can close off legal options entirely.

When a claim succeeds, the law allows recovery of economic damages such as lost wages and back pay, as well as non-economic damages for emotional distress. We pursue both categories on behalf of our clients in Rancho Cucamonga and throughout San Bernardino County.