Sacramento Pregnancy Discrimination Attorney

While it may seem that pregnancy discrimination is a thing of the past, it is actually one of the most common areas of law that our attorneys deal with. In pregnancy discrimination cases, a woman is usually subjected to some form of harassing, retaliatory, or wrongful behavior while at work or shortly after returning from maternity leave. The misconception is that pregnant employees are unable to handle work tasks either because they do not want to or because she physically cannot do the work. Luckily, the Sacramento pregnancy discrimination attorney at Miracle Mile Law Group is trained to handle such illegal behavior.

Pregnancy discrimination occurs when an employee is treated less favorably than other employees because of the employee’s pregnancy. In fact, State and Federal law treats pregnancy discrimination as a form of sex and/or disability discrimination. Some examples of less favorable treatment due to a pregnancy include:

• Being terminated immediately after returning from maternity leave
• Failing to hire the employee due to her pregnancy
• Terminating a pregnant employee while on approved FMLA or CFRA leave
• Decreasing a pregnant employee’s pay or demoting her job title to a less favorable one
• Requiring that a pregnant employee take unwanted leave even though she can perform the essential functions of her job
• Denying her reasonable accommodations, such as a private space to express milk

Federal Law: Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 there is a clause known as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), which prohibits pregnancy discrimination. The PDA treats pregnancy as a form of temporary disability. If a pregnant employee cannot perform her work functions, she must be treated as any other disabled employee. That said, the employer must provide reasonable accommodations so that she can perform her job meaningfully.

California State Law: State law mirrors federal law in many respects, however state laws are generally more friendly for employees. If an employee has been discriminated against on the basis of her pregnancy, the employee may bring an action to California’s Department of Fair Employment and House (DFEH). Our Sacramento Pregnancy Discrimination Attorney helps clients all over the state of California file actions with the DFEH and a civil court of law.

Statute of limitations refers to the deadline a person has to file a lawsuit and if that person does not file within that deadline, the law prohibits the lawsuit. The employee must file a complaint against the employer with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) within one year from the date of the last illegal act; the employee has another one year to file suit in civil court after the right to sue letter is issued. However, if the employee plans to file a federal cause of action, he or she has 300 days from date of the alleged discriminatory act.

Have you been denied accommodations for your pregnancy? Were you terminated due to your pregnancy?  Contact us today to speak with a Sacramento pregnancy discrimination attorney. Call (888) 244-0706, email [email protected] or complete our online form.