Pregnancy Discrimination in California: Your Rights at Work

It is illegal for a California employer to fire, demote, or punish you because you are pregnant. State law also gives pregnant workers strong rights to leave, workplace accommodations, a temporary transfer to safer work, and your job back afterward. These protections are broader than federal law, and they reach small employers that federal law does not.

If you are reading this, you are probably worried about how a pregnancy will land at work. Below, we explain your core pregnancy rights in California, how much leave you can take, what accommodations you can ask for, who is covered, and the deadline to act if your employer gets it wrong.

This article is general information about California law, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Can you be fired for being pregnant in California?

No. Firing, demoting, or refusing to hire someone because of pregnancy is unlawful sex discrimination in California. The Fair Employment and Housing Act treats pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions as protected, and it applies to employers with five or more employees. An adverse action taken because you are pregnant, recently gave birth, or have a related condition can support a claim.

California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (opens in a new tab) defines sex to include pregnancy and childbirth, so pregnancy bias is sex discrimination. That matters because it is one of the most common patterns we see. A worker shares the news, and soon after comes a sudden write-up, a schedule cut, or a layoff that lands only on her. Timing that close to the announcement, or treatment that differs from how non-pregnant coworkers are handled, can be evidence that the real reason was the pregnancy.

What pregnancy rights do California workers have?

California pregnant workers generally have the right to be free from discrimination, to take pregnancy disability leave, to reasonable accommodation, to a temporary transfer to less strenuous or hazardous work, and to reinstatement afterward. These rights come from the Fair Employment and Housing Act and the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law, and most cannot be waived by the employer.

In plain terms, your employer cannot treat pregnancy as a reason to push you out, and it must work with you to keep you safely on the job. If your doctor says you need a stool, lighter lifting, more bathroom breaks, or time off for a related condition, those are the kinds of adjustments the law is built to protect. An employer that flatly refuses to engage, or that requires you to take leave you did not ask for, may be violating the law.

How much pregnancy leave am I entitled to in California?

You can take up to four months of pregnancy disability leave for the time you are actually disabled by pregnancy or childbirth, and then up to 12 weeks of bonding leave to care for a new child. Combined, that can add up to roughly seven months of protected leave. The pregnancy disability portion applies to employers with five or more employees.

The two leaves come from different laws and do not overlap. Government Code section 12945 (opens in a new tab), the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law, covers up to four months while you are disabled by pregnancy. The California Family Rights Act then adds up to 12 weeks of baby-bonding leave for eligible employees, which runs after the disability leave rather than at the same time. Pregnancy disability leave is generally unpaid, but you may be able to use accrued vacation, and short-term disability benefits may apply. Your employer must also keep your group health coverage in place during the disability leave.

Can I get accommodations while I am pregnant?

Yes. If you have a pregnancy-related condition, California law requires your employer to provide reasonable accommodation on the advice of your health care provider, and to transfer you temporarily to a less strenuous or hazardous position when you request it and it can be reasonably accommodated. The employer does not have to create a brand-new job, but it does have to work with you.

Accommodations can be simple, such as a modified schedule, lighter duties, permission to sit, more frequent breaks, or time off for appointments. A separate federal law, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, took effect in 2023 and adds an affirmative duty to accommodate known pregnancy-related limitations for employers with 15 or more employees. The practical point is that a request backed by your provider is hard for an employer to simply ignore, and refusing to engage with it can itself be a violation.

What if my employer has fewer than five employees?

You may still be protected. While the Fair Employment and Housing Act generally applies to employers with five or more employees, the California Constitution independently bars sex discrimination in employment, and courts have held that pregnancy discrimination violates that guarantee. That means an employee at a very small business may still bring a wrongful termination claim rooted in public policy.

In Badih v. Myers, a California appeals court allowed a pregnancy discrimination claim against a small employer not covered by the FEHA, based on the constitutional right to pursue employment free of sex discrimination. So the size of the company is not always the end of the analysis. If you were fired because you were pregnant, it is worth having the specific facts reviewed even if your employer is small.

How do I prove pregnancy discrimination?

Most pregnancy discrimination cases are built on circumstantial evidence using a burden-shifting framework. You show a basic case, the employer offers a lawful reason, and you then show that reason is a cover for discrimination. Employer knowledge of the pregnancy and close timing between that knowledge and the adverse action are common ways to raise the inference.

The starting elements are that you were pregnant or had a related condition, you were qualified or performing your job, you suffered an adverse action such as a firing or demotion, and something suggests a discriminatory motive. Courts have made clear the employer must have known you were pregnant, so evidence of that knowledge matters. For accommodation claims, the U.S. Supreme Court in Young v. UPS set out a framework that compares how the employer treated you against how it treated other workers with similar limitations. None of this requires a smoking gun, but it does reward good documentation.

How long do I have, and what can I recover?

Generally you have three years to file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, and then one year from your right-to-sue notice to file a lawsuit. If you prevail, California allows recovery of lost pay and benefits, emotional distress damages, and, in the right cases, punitive damages and attorney's fees, with no statutory cap.

Before suing under the FEHA, you file with the California Civil Rights Department (opens in a new tab) and obtain a right-to-sue notice, a step a lawyer typically handles. Amounts vary widely and no lawyer can promise a number. If you were fired after announcing a pregnancy or asking for accommodation, that can also be a wrongful termination or retaliation claim, and our post on wrongful termination in California explains how those work.

What to do if you are facing pregnancy discrimination

Put your requests in writing, keep your own records, and act before a deadline passes. A short email asking for leave or an accommodation, with your provider's note, creates a paper trail that is hard for an employer to rewrite later. If the response is a demotion, a schedule cut, or a firing, that sequence is often the heart of a claim.

• Request leave, accommodation, or a transfer in writing, and keep your provider's supporting note.
• Save pay stubs, reviews, schedules, and any messages about your pregnancy or your requests, because access can disappear once you leave.
• Write down dates: when you told your employer, what you asked for, and what happened next.

If your employer is punishing you for being pregnant or refusing to work with you, the useful next step is to have someone look at the specifics. Justin Silverman represents workers across Los Angeles, and a consultation with our office is free. You can reach us at 818-585-1267 or through the contact form on our site. The firm has recovered over $12 million for clients in labor, employment, and injury matters. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and every case depends on its own facts. You can also read more about how we help employees on our practice areas.

This article is general information about California law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, talk to a lawyer.