California Your Rights and Obligations as a Pregnant Employee Poster Mandatory

YOUR RIGHTS  AND OBLIGATIONS AS  A 
PREGNANT EMPLOYEE	
YOUR 
RIGHTS AND 
OBLIGATIONS 
AS A  PREGNANT 
EMPLOYEE
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 (if 
one is available) or duties if medically needed because of 
your pregnancy;
•   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 
the Labor Code; and
•   Never discriminate, harass, or retaliate on the basis  
of pregnancy.  
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, 
childbirth, or related medical condition. Your health  
care provider determines how much time you will need.   
•  Once your employer has been informed that you need to  tak
 e PDL, your employ

er must guarantee in writing that you 
can return to work in your same or a comparable 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, and doctor-ordered bed rest, and covers 
conditions such as severe morning sickness, gestational 
diabetes, pregnancy-induced hyper-tension, 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.
•   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 of	
 f during your PDL. 
•  Your em	

ployer may require or you may choose to use any 
available sick leave during your PDL. 
•  Your employer is required t	

o continue your group health 
coverage during your PDL at the same level and under the 
same 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 transf	 er, or take PDL, you must 
give your employer suff	
icient notice for your employer to 
make appropriate plans. Sufficient notice means 30 days 
advance notice if the need for the reasonable 
accommodation, transfer, or PDL is foreseeable, or 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 if your employer has 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 y

our medical need, your employer 
may be justified in delaying your reasonable accommodation,  
transfer, or PDL.
ADDITIONAL LEAVE UNDER THE CALIFORNIA 
FAMILY RIGHTS ACT (CFRA):
Under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), if you have more 
than 12 months of service with an 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 a 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***, 
spouse, domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling. 
Employers may pay their employees while taking CFRA leave, 
but employers are not required to do so, unless the employee is 
taking accrued paid time-off while on CFRA leave. Employees 
taking CFRA leave may be eligible for California’s Paid Family 
Leave (PFL) program, which is administered by the Employment 
Development Department (EDD).
If you have been subjected to discrimination, harassment, 
or retaliation at work, or have been improperly denied PDL 
or CFRA leave, le a complaint with CRD.
TO FILE A COMPLAINT
Civil Rights Department
calcivilrights.ca.gov/complaintprocess 
Toll Free: 800.884.1684   
TTY: 800.700.2320
If you have a disability that requires a reasonable 
accommodation, CRD can assist you with your complaint. 
Contact us through any method above or, for individuals who 
are deaf or hard of hearing or have speech disabilities, through 
the California Relay Service (711). 	
* PDL, CFRA leave, and anti-discrimination protections apply to employers of 5 or more employees; anti-harassment protections apply to employers of 1 or more.
** “Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of an employee or the employee’s domestic partner, or a person to whom the employee 
stands in loco parentis.
*** “Parent” includes a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the 
employee was a child.
This guidance is for informational purposes only, does not establish  subs tantiv

e policy or rights, and does not constitute legal advice.	CRD-E09P-ENG / September 2022