You told your manager you were pregnant, and within weeks your work was suddenly "a problem." Or you asked to sit down, lift less, or leave for prenatal appointments, and the answer was no. Or you came back from leave and learned your job had been "eliminated," while someone else was doing it.
California law protects employees from all of this. But protections on paper matter only if someone can prove what really happened. Employers rarely say they let someone go because of a pregnancy. They say restructuring, performance, attendance, or fit. Our job is to find out whether those explanations hold up, including what supervisors, managers, and HR said to each other when you weren't in the room.
Bryant Workers Law represents employees, not employers. Attorney Shelley Bryant has practiced California law since 2002 and has personally filed and litigated employment lawsuits in 19 California counties, including cases involving pregnancy discrimination, pregnancy accommodation, and family leave.
Free Case Evaluation: Call 559-985-0440 or use our contact form to tell us what happened.
Pregnancy Discrimination Representation in Fresno and Throughout California
Bryant Worker's Law, PC, is based in Fresno and represents employees throughout California. The firm's approach focuses on investigating suspicious terminations, negative performance evaluations, denied accommodations, pregnancy leave violations, and employer decisions made during pregnancy or maternity leave.
Common problems, and how we investigate them
Every case is different, but most pregnancy cases start with one of the situations below. For each, here is what we look at and why.
You were fired after telling your employer you were pregnant
This includes being let go during your pregnancy or while you were on pregnancy or maternity leave.
How we build the case. Timing is the starting point, not the whole case. We build a timeline: when you told your supervisor, who else learned about it, and when the first criticism, schedule change, or termination discussion happened. We look for comments about your pregnancy, your plans for leave, your "commitment," or whether you would come back. In litigation, we can seek emails, text messages, and chat messages between the decision-makers and HR from the weeks around the decision, and we question those people under oath about when they decided and why.
"It was about your performance"
Performance is the most common explanation employers give, and the one most worth testing.
How we build the case. We compare your evaluations, raises, and praise from before the pregnancy announcement with what came after. We look at whether discipline started only after you announced. We investigate whether coworkers who were not pregnant made the same mistakes, missed the same metrics, or had the same attendance and were treated differently. And we ask when the performance concerns were first written down. Documentation created after a decision was made tells a different story than documentation created before it.
You were demoted, passed over, or had your hours or pay cut
Some employers don't fire a pregnant employee. They take away the promotion that was promised, move her to a less desirable shift, reassign her best accounts, or quietly cut her hours until the job no longer pays the bills.
How we build the case. We look at who received the promotion or the assignments and what their qualifications were. We compare your schedule, hours, commissions, and pay before and after your announcement. Where a change was presented as a business decision, we ask whether it applied to anyone else and whether anyone documented a reason at the time.
Your employer says your position was eliminated
"Position eliminated" can be true. It can also be a label put on a single termination.
How we build the case. We investigate whether the employer hired or reassigned someone else to perform your duties, sometimes under a different job title. We examine organizational charts, job postings, and hiring records from before and after your termination, and we seek internal communications about the decision: who proposed it, when, and whether your pregnancy or leave came up. If a "reduction in force" affected only you, or only employees on leave, that matters.
You asked for an accommodation and were refused, or your employer says you never asked
Pregnancy-related accommodations can include lifting restrictions, more frequent breaks, a chair, modified duties, a temporary transfer to less strenuous work, time off for appointments, or space and break time to express breast milk.
How we build the case. Many accommodation requests are made in person or by text, and later denied. We help you identify the emails, text messages, doctor's notes, HR forms, and witnesses that show what you asked for, when, and what the response was. We then look at what the employer did with the request: whether anyone discussed options with you, whether it consulted your health care provider's restrictions, and whether it offered anything at all.
You were denied pregnancy disability leave
How we build the case. We review your medical documentation, the leave request, and the employer's leave policies and response. We look for statements that you weren't "eligible," that you hadn't worked there long enough, or that the company was too busy, and we compare them with what California law actually requires.
You were fired soon after returning from leave, or not given your job back
How we build the case. We investigate staffing decisions made while you were out: who covered your work, whether that person was kept on, whether your job was posted, and what supervisors and HR told each other about your return date. We compare the job you were offered with the job you left: duties, pay, schedule, location, and status. A "comparable" position that pays less or moves you to nights may not be comparable at all.
You were punished for asking for an accommodation or protected leave
How we build the case. We compare the date of your request with the discipline, write-ups, schedule changes, or termination that followed. We look for a shift in how supervisors talked about you or wrote about you after the request. And we look at whether the employer's stated reason existed before you asked.
A note on evidence. What we can obtain in litigation depends on what records exist, what the court allows, and the objections the employer raises. We can't promise that any particular document will turn up. But we know where to look and how to ask for it.
Free Case Evaluation
Call 559-985-0440 or use our contact form to tell us what happened.
Your rights under California and federal law
This is a summary, not a complete statement of the law. Whether a law applies to you depends on your employer's size, your job, and the facts.
Pregnancy discrimination under California law
California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) treats discrimination because of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions as sex discrimination. It applies to employers with five or more employees. An employer may not fire you, refuse to hire or promote you, cut your pay, or change the terms of your job because of your pregnancy.
Pregnancy-related accommodations
Under California law, if your health care provider advises it, your employer must reasonably accommodate conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. That can include a temporary transfer to a less strenuous or less hazardous position when medically advisable. California law also requires reasonable break time and a private place, other than a bathroom, to express breast milk.
The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act separately requires employers with 15 or more employees to make reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation would cause undue hardship. Under that law, an employer generally can't force you onto leave if another reasonable accommodation would let you keep working.
Pregnancy Disability Leave and baby-bonding leave are different
Employees often hear "maternity leave" used for both. Under California law they are separate rights.
| Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) | CFRA baby-bonding leave | |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Time you are actually disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related condition, before or after birth | Time to bond with a new child |
| How much | Up to four months per pregnancy, as needed | Up to 12 weeks, within one year of the child's birth or placement |
| Who qualifies | Employees of employers with 5 or more employees; no minimum time on the job | Employees of employers with 5 or more employees who have worked there 12 months and at least 1,250 hours in the past year |
| Returning to work | Generally, the same position, with limited exceptions | The same or a comparable position, with limited exceptions |
Because these are separate rights, an eligible employee may be able to take PDL for the period of disability and then CFRA leave to bond with the baby. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may also apply and can run at the same time as these leaves.
Leave is not the same as pay. Programs run by California's Employment Development Department, such as State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave, may replace part of your wages. They do not, by themselves, protect your job. Job protection comes from PDL, CFRA, and related laws.
Retaliation
It is unlawful to retaliate against an employee for requesting a pregnancy accommodation, taking or requesting protected leave, or complaining about pregnancy discrimination. A retaliation claim can exist even if the underlying request was denied for a lawful reason.
What you may be able to recover
Depending on the facts and the claims, remedies can include lost wages and benefits, future lost earnings, compensation for emotional distress, reinstatement, and attorney's fees and costs. Punitive damages may be available in cases involving malice, oppression, or fraud by the employer. Some remedies are limited when the employer is a government agency. No outcome can be promised in any case.
Filing deadlines
To bring a FEHA claim, you generally must first file a complaint with California's Civil Rights Department. California generally allows three years to file that complaint and one year after a right-to-sue notice to file a lawsuit. A federal charge with the EEOC generally must be filed within 300 days in California. Leave-related and other claims may have different deadlines, and different rules can apply to government employers. Don't wait to find out which deadline applies to you.
What you can do now
- Write down a timeline while it's fresh: when you told your employer, who was there, what was said, and every change that followed.
- Keep copies of what you were given: performance reviews, schedules, pay stubs, doctor's notes, leave forms, and accommodation requests.
- Save your own texts and emails with supervisors to a personal account or device. Don't take confidential company records you weren't authorized to have; ask us first.
- Make requests in writing when you can, and keep a copy.
- Don't sign a severance or separation agreement without understanding it. It may release your pregnancy claims. See our free severance agreement review.
When we take a case, we can send the employer a written demand to preserve evidence, including emails, text messages, and personnel files, so that records relevant to your claim aren't lost. During your evaluation, we help you organize the evidence you already have.
How we work
Pregnancy cases usually turn on details: dates, documents, and the gap between what an employer says now and what it wrote at the time. We build the timeline first, then test every explanation the employer gives against its own records.
Attorney Bryant has filed and litigated cases asserting pregnancy discrimination, pregnancy accommodation, and family-leave claims in California state and federal courts. You can see representative cases, described by the claims filed, on our California Litigation Experience page.
We represent employees throughout California from our office in Fresno.
Common questions
Can I be fired while I'm pregnant in California?
Pregnancy doesn't protect you from a genuine layoff or from discipline the employer would have imposed on anyone. It can't be the reason. The question in most cases is what the real reason was, and that is what an investigation is meant to answer.
Is pregnancy disability leave the same as maternity leave?
Not legally. Pregnancy disability leave covers the time you are disabled by pregnancy or childbirth. Leave to bond with your baby comes from a different law, the California Family Rights Act, with different eligibility rules. Many employees qualify for both.
I haven't worked there a year. Do I still have rights?
Yes. California's pregnancy discrimination and pregnancy disability leave protections don't require a minimum time on the job. Baby-bonding leave under CFRA does require 12 months of employment and 1,250 hours in the past year.
My employer is small. Do these laws apply?
California's pregnancy protections generally apply to employers with five or more employees. The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act applies to employers with 15 or more.
Does my employer have to give me my exact job back?
After pregnancy disability leave, generally yes, with limited exceptions. After CFRA leave, you are generally entitled to the same or a comparable position. If your employer claims an exception, such as that your job would have been eliminated anyway, the facts behind that claim deserve a close look.
Do I need a doctor's note to get an accommodation?
Your employer may ask for a note from your health care provider supporting the accommodation or leave. Providing one, and keeping a copy, also creates a record that you asked.
I was offered severance after maternity leave. Should I sign it?
Maybe, but understand it first. A severance agreement usually asks you to give up legal claims, including pregnancy-related claims. We offer a free severance agreement review for California employees.
How long do I have to take action?
Generally three years to file with the Civil Rights Department under California law, but other claims have shorter deadlines. Contacting us promptly protects your options.
Free Case Evaluation
If you were fired, demoted, denied leave, or refused an accommodation because of a pregnancy, tell us what happened. Call 559-985-0440 or use our contact form. An attorney will review your inquiry. Please don't send confidential documents through the form.
Attorney advertising. This page provides general information about California employment law and is not legal advice about your situation. Contacting Bryant Worker's Law, PC, 8050 N. Palm Ave., Ste. 300, Fresno, CA 93711, does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.