Pregnancy Discrimination

Discriminating against an employee because they are pregnant is illegal. If you believe you were discriminated against because of your pregnancy, it is recommended to contact an attorney with significant experience in pregnancy discrimination and harassment cases.

An employer may not harass a female employee on the basis of pregnancy, or for getting pregnant. It is also unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a female employee on the basis of pregnancy.

Some examples of pregnancy discrimination and pregnancy harassment may include when an employer does any of the following:

• Refuse to hire the pregnant employee; or refuse to hire the employee based on the “fear” that they employee may become pregnant
• Demote an employee because of their pregnancy, including terminating an employee because they are pregnant or because of the “fear” that the employee may become pregnant
• Refuse to allow reasonable amounts of time off work for doctor’s appointments
• Fail to accommodate a pregnant employee’s reasonable requests for accommodations
• Teasing the employee about their pregnancy
• Making jokes about the employee’s abilities because of their pregnancy
• Firing a pregnant employee because the employer favored a nonpregnant employee 
• Denying the employee opportunities
• Overly monitoring and scrutinizing the employee
• Unfairly disciplining the employee
• Denying the employee benefits

The employee bringing forward the claims needs to be able to prove that the employer favored nonpregnant employees, and that this caused the employer to treat the pregnant employees differently.

In California, the principal statute governing employment discrimination is the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) (Govt C §§12900–12996). This statute protects the right of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age (at least 40), military and veteran status, or pregnancy. (Govt C §§12940(a), 12941, 12945(a)). This statute does not only protect paid employees but also extends to individuals who are unpaid interns and volunteers. (Govt C §12940(j)).

A successful claim may assist the employee in recovering lost wages and benefits, emotional distress damages, as well as an additional financial award for the poor treatment, amongst other awards.

If you are pregnant and believe you have been treated differently because of your pregnancy status, give us a call at 855-IM-FIRED for a free case evaluation. Our attorneys have substantial experience with these types of cases representing pregnant individuals who have been discriminated against in the past or who are currently experiencing pregnancy discrimination.

There are no up-front costs and you do not pay any attorneys’ fees unless we get a recovery in the case.

Contact our Los Angeles California employment attorneys and lawyers now for all of your employee rights’ needs! 

• Age Discrimination
• Sex/Gender Discrimination
• Pregnancy Discrimination
• Military Status Discrimination
• Sexual Harassment
• Sexual Assault
• Sexual Battery
• Hostile Work Environment
• Whistleblower Violations
• Sexual Orientation Discrimination (LGBTQIA+)
• Race/National Origin Discrimination
• Religious Discrimination
• Family Medical Leave Act/California Family Rights Act Violations
• Failure to Pay Minimum Wages
• Unsafe Workplace
• Unpaid Wages
• Unpaid Overtime
• Meal Period And Rest Break Violations
• Misclassification as an Independent Contractor
• Retaliation
• Wrongful Termination