Santa Clarita Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyer

Getting pregnant can be one of the biggest milestones in a woman’s life. For working women, however, being pregnant can sometimes lead to harassment, discrimination, and unfair treatment at work. Finding an employment lawyer to help you address these situations is imperative to rectify any damage caused by pregnancy discrimination. For the communities of Santa Clarita, Nosratilaw, A Professional Law Corporation can help those facing workplace discrimination due to their pregnancy status.

What Is Pregnancy Discrimination?

Pregnancy discrimination is a form of retaliation used by employers to demote, fire, or avoid hiring qualified employees based on their current pregnancy status. This form of discrimination is a part of employment law, so if you are facing this harassment, contacting an employment law attorney is imperative for building a solid case. Pregnant employees are protected from discrimination under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). The PDA also requires employers to treat pregnant women, new mothers, and people with similar medical situations fairly for all employment-related purposes, regardless of whether they are pregnant at the time.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is associated with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under Title VII, sex discrimination motivated by a woman’s pregnancy, delivery, or other associated medical conditions is illegal. Pregnant women and new mothers must be treated equally with other applicants or workers who have comparable skills or limitations. Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, male employees are also eligible to file a claim.

Does California Have Maternity and Paternity Leave?

California has some of the nation’s most comprehensive parental leave legislation, going further than the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Employees of businesses with at least 20 employees who are expecting a new biological, adoptive, or foster child are covered by the New Parent Leave Act (NPLA). Regardless of gender, workers must have put in at least a year’s worth of work for the company, or 1,250 hours, in the 12 months before leaving.

The California Family Rights Act (CFRA), which applies to employees of companies with at least 50 workers, guarantees leave if the same requirements are met. Then there are paid family and disability leave programs, which provide parents with six weeks of temporary salary replacement if they need time off to spend quality time with a child. This guarantees that both mothers and fathers can take the time needed from work to properly care for their children.

Examples of Pregnancy Discrimination

An employee can claim that their company violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act to prove pregnancy-based discrimination. According to the PDA, it is illegal to discriminate at work against women who have had or are considering having an abortion, were pregnant or intend to become pregnant, or who have a health condition related to pregnancy. Employers cannot:

• Deny hiring a candidate who is expecting or anticipates getting pregnant
• Terminate a worker because she’s pregnant
• Refuse a promotion or raise because of pregnancy
• Refuse to give leave for reasons connected to pregnancy

You must first build a “prima facie” case, or a believable instance of discrimination, to demonstrate pregnancy discrimination at work. You must be a part of a protected class, be able to perform the essential functions of your job, have experienced an adverse work-related action, and establish a causal link between your pregnancy and the adverse work-related action as part of the prima facie case.

How to Prove Pregnancy Discrimination

Simply put, you must demonstrate that you had an “adverse employment action” or some concrete harm, like having your hours or pay reduced, being demoted, not receiving a promotion, or being wrongfully terminated because you are pregnant. According to the pregnancy discrimination legal criterion, you must demonstrate that the discriminatory action was motivated by your pregnancy.

There are many ways to demonstrate that workplace discrimination was motivated by your pregnancy. In all cases of discrimination, these means of proving are the same. These are a few instances:

• The employer’s justifications are false. Although you were fired possibly due to poor performance, you did better work than most of your coworkers, none of whom were expecting children. In this instance, the employer’s justification for the termination is false, suggesting that they are concealing the actual cause, your pregnancy, of the termination.
• The timing is strange. Perhaps you received excellent reviews before becoming pregnant and continued to act in the same manner after that. You were doing a good job. However, once you revealed your pregnancy, you were abruptly terminated due to minor issues that nobody noticed before. Any strange disciplinary actions that happen after you announce your pregnancy can be seen as retaliation. It appears to be pregnancy discrimination unless there is another, valid cause.
• Compared to other workers, you received inferior treatment. Perhaps receiving a multi-step disciplinary process before discharge is standard policy at your company, and no one has ever been let go without following it. You were the sole exception and happened to be expecting a child. This strongly implies that your termination was “because of” your pregnancy, with discrimination being the employer’s motivation.
• Your boss said that being pregnant was a burden. Employers are frequently astute enough to conceal their discriminatory intentions. However, there are situations when employers make clear statements that show they disapprove of your pregnancy and initiate adverse job actions as a result. Comments about reliability or long-term positions in response to questions about maternity can insinuate an employer’s disapproval of hiring someone who’s pregnant or considering getting pregnant.

When meeting with an employer to discuss any job opportunity, promotion, or pregnancy announcement, be sure to collect any documentation, communication, or unequal treatment you receive from management. Especially helpful in cases where the timing of events is suspicious like if your pregnancy announcement is made two weeks before a disciplinary conversation, communication of this announcement can be used to prove the conversation was related to your pregnancy. In addition to communications with your boss, any conversations with coworkers, either between them and management or with you, that prove a sense of resentment from your boss about your pregnancy, should be addressed when filing a complaint.

Can Pregnancy Qualify You for Disability?

You can submit a disability insurance claim for any pregnancy-related disability or recovery from birth if your primary doctor or midwife certifies that you are unable to work due to your condition. You can submit a claim earlier if a pregnancy-related state will force you to stop working sooner than four weeks before your baby’s anticipated due date. Suppose you have a pregnancy-related ailment that prohibits you from doing your normal employment activities. In that case, your certified health professional may deem it necessary for you to perform different or modified duties throughout pregnancy or after delivery.

Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyer FAQs

Q: How Can You Prove Discrimination During Pregnancy?

A: To effectively prove a case of pregnancy discrimination, a worker must be able to show that she was or is pregnant at the time of the incident, that she is qualified for her work, and that the employer took adverse action against her because of her pregnancy. A pregnant worker must demonstrate a link between her pregnancy status and the employer’s discriminatory treatment as well.

Q: How Much Is a Pregnancy Discrimination Case Worth?

A: If a woman loses her employment solely because she was pregnant, she may be entitled to compensation of $200,000 to $425,000, or somewhat less, as part of the lawsuit’s recovery. Every pregnancy discrimination case is different, so speaking with an employment attorney ahead of any filings is necessary to create a more substantial claim against an employer.

Q: What Is Considered Pregnancy Harassment?

A: Unwelcome behavior related to pregnancy that occurs in the workplace is recognized as pregnancy harassment. The behavior could be verbal, written, or physical, coming from any other employee, regardless of gender. The harasser may be a coworker, a boss, a manager in a different department, a client or vendor, or someone who is not an employee of your employer. Pregnancy-related jokes, gestures, graffiti, drawings, and images can all be considered forms of pregnancy harassment.

Q: When Can You Claim Maternity Discrimination?

A: For employees in California, the timeframe for submitting a claim is between one year, for federal employees, and two years, for state employees, from the date the discrimination occurred. You must get a right-to-sue declaration from the relevant government whether you want to file a lawsuit in federal or state court. You or your attorney must get this letter from the Department of Fair Housing and Employment before bringing a case to state court.

Finding a Santa Clarita Employment Law Attorney

Discrimination at work is never acceptable, especially in cases of pregnancy discrimination. If your employer is actively taking retaliatory methods against you for being pregnant, finding an employment law attorney who can address this harassment is essential for helping you create or rejoin a safer work environment.

At the Law Office of Omid Nosrati, our legal team can assist the pregnant workers of Santa Clarita with their pregnancy discrimination cases, helping give them the legal support needed to support their situation. For information on our employment law services, contact us today.