(a) ?Notice A?
YOUR RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS AS A PREGNANT EMPLOYEE
If you are pregnant, have a related medical condition, or are recovering from childbirth, PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE.
? California law protects employees against discrimination or harassment because of an employee's pregnancy, childbirth or any related medical condition (referred to below as ?because of pregnancy?). California also law prohibits employers from denying or interfering with an employee's pregnancy-related employment rights.
? Your employer has an obligation to:
¬° reasonably accommodate your medical needs related to pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions (such as temporarily modifying your work duties, providing you with a stool or chair, or allowing more frequent breaks);
¬° transfer you to a less strenuous or hazardous position (where one is available) or duties if medically needed because of your pregnancy; and
¬° provide you with pregnancy disability leave (PDL) of up to four months (the working days you normally would work in one-third of a year or 17 1/3 weeks) and return you to your same job when you are no longer disabled by your pregnancy or, in certain instances, to a comparable job. Taking PDL, however, does not protect you from non-leave related employment actions, such as a layoff.
¬° provide a reasonable amount of break time and use of a room or other location in close proximity to the employee's work area to express breast milk in private as set forth in Labor Code section 1030, et seq.
? For pregnancy disability leave:
¬° PDL is not for an automatic period of time, but for the period of time that you are disabled by pregnancy. Your health care provider determines how much time you will need.
¬° Once your employer has been informed that you need to take PDL, your employer must guarantee in writing that you can return to work in your same position if you request a written guarantee. Your employer may require you to submit written medical certification from your health care provider substantiating the need for your leave.
¬° PDL may include, but is not limited to, additional or more frequent breaks, time for prenatal or postnatal medical appointments, doctor-ordered bed rest, severe ?morning sickness,? gestational diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia, recovery from childbirth or loss or end of pregnancy, and/or post-partum depression.
¬° PDL does not need to be taken all at once but can be taken on an as-needed basis as required by your health care provider, including intermittent leave or a reduced work schedule, all of which counts against your four month entitlement to leave.
¬° Your leave will be paid or unpaid depending on your employer's policy for other medical leaves. You may also be eligible for state disability insurance or Paid Family Leave (PFL), administered by the California Employment Development Department.
¬° At your discretion, you can use any vacation or other paid time off during your PDL.
¬° Your employer may require or you may choose to use any available sick leave during your PDL.
¬° Your employer is required to continue your group health coverage during your PDL at the level and under the conditions that coverage would have been provided if you had continued in employment continuously for the duration of your leave.
¬° Taking PDL may impact certain of your benefits and your seniority date; please contact your employer for details.
Notice Obligations as an Employee.
? Give your employer reasonable notice: To receive reasonable accommodation, obtain a transfer, or take PDL, you must give your employer sufficient notice for your employer to make appropriate plans - 30 days advance notice if the need for the reasonable accommodation, transfer or PDL is foreseeable, otherwise as soon as practicable if the need is an emergency or unforeseeable.
? Provide a Written Medical Certification from Your Health Care Provider. Except in a medical emergency where there is no time to obtain it, your employer may require you to supply a written medical certification from your health care provider of the medical need for your reasonable accommodation, transfer or PDL. If the need is an emergency or unforeseeable, you must provide this certification within the time frame your employer requests, unless it is not practicable for you to do so under the circumstances despite your diligent, good faith efforts. Your employer must provide at least 15 calendar days for you to submit the certification. See your employer for a copy of a medical certification form to give to your health care provider to complete.
? PLEASE NOTE that if you fail to give your employer reasonable advance notice or, if your employer requires it, written medical certification of your medical need, your employer may be justified in delaying your reasonable accommodation, transfer, or PDL.
This notice is a summary of your rights and obligations under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). For more information about your rights and obligations as a pregnant employee, contact your employer, look at the Department of Fair Employment and Housing's website at www.dfeh.ca.gov, or contact the Department at (800) 884-1684. The text of the FEHA and the regulations interpreting it are available on the Fair Employment and Housing Commission's website at www.dfeh.ca.gov.
(b) ?Notice B?
FAMILY CARE AND MEDICAL LEAVE AND PREGNANCY DISABILITY LEAVE
Under the California Family Rights Act of 1993 (CFRA), if you have more than 12 months of service with your employer and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month period before the date you want to begin your leave, you may have a right to an unpaid family care or medical leave (CFRA leave). This leave may be up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of your child or for your own serious health condition or that of your child, parent or spouse.
Even if you are not eligible for CFRA leave, if disabled by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, you are entitled to take pregnancy disability leave (PDL) of up to four months, or the working days in one-third of a year or 17 1/3 weeks, depending on your period(s) of actual disability. Time off needed for prenatal or postnatal care; doctor-ordered bed rest; gestational diabetes; pregnancy-induced hypertension; preeclampsia; childbirth; postpartum depression; loss or end of pregnancy; or recovery from childbirth or loss or end of pregnancy would all be covered by your PDL.
Your employer also has an obligation to reasonably accommodate your medical needs (such as allowing more frequent breaks) and to transfer you to a less strenuous or hazardous position if it is medically advisable because of your pregnancy.
If you are CFRA-eligible, you have certain rights to take BOTH PDL and a separate CFRA leave for reason of the birth of your child. Both leaves guarantee reinstatement to the same or a comparable position at the end of the leave, subject to any defense allowed under the law.
If possible, you must provide at least 30 days advance notice for foreseeable events (such as the expected birth of a child or a planned medical treatment for yourself or a family member). For events that are unforeseeable, you must to notify your employer, at least verbally, as soon as you learn of the need for the leave.
Failure to comply with these notice rules is grounds for, and may result in, deferral of the requested leave until you comply with this notice policy.
Your employer may require medical certification from your health care provider before allowing you a leave for:
? your pregnancy;
? your own serious health condition; or
? to care for your child, parent, or spouse who has a serious health condition.
See your employer for a copy of a medical certification form to give to your health care provider to complete.
When medically necessary, leave may be taken on an intermittent or a reduced work schedule.
If you are taking a leave for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child, the basic minimum duration of the leave is two weeks and you must conclude the leave within one year of the birth or placement for adoption or foster care.
Taking a family care or pregnancy disability leave may impact certain of your benefits and your seniority date. Contact your employer for more information regarding your eligibility for a leave and/or the impact of the leave on your seniority and benefits.
This notice is a summary of your rights and obligations under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The FEHA prohibits employers from denying, interfering with, or restraining your exercise of these rights. For more information about your rights and obligations, contact your employer, look at the Department of Fair Employment and Housing's website at www.dfeh.ca.gov, or contact the Department at (800) 884-1684. The text of the FEHA and the regulations interpreting it are available on the Fair Employment and Housing Commission's website at www.dfeh.ca.gov.
Authority cited:
Government Code 12935(a)
Government Code 12945
Reference:
Government Code 12940
Government Code 12945
29 U.S.C. 2601, et seq.
29 C.F.R. 825
(Amended by Register 2013, No. 40.)