California Code of Regulations › Title 2 - Administration › Division 4.1 - Civil Rights Department › Chapter 5 - Civil Rights Council › Subchapter 2 - Discrimination in Employment › Article 6 - Pregnancy, Childbirth or Related Medical Conditions › Section 11051 - Employer Notice

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
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 law also prohibits employers from denying or interfering with an
						employee's pregnancy-related employment rights.
* Your employer has an obligation to:
o 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);
o transfer you to a less strenuous or hazardous position
						(where one is available) or duties if medically needed because of your
						pregnancy; and
o 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.
o 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.
* For pregnancy disability leave:
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o At your discretion, you can use any vacation or other
						paid time off during your PDL.
o Your employer may require or you may choose to use any
						available sick leave during your PDL.
o Your employer is required to 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.
o Taking PDL may impact certain of your benefits and your
						seniority date; please contact your employer for details.
o 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). For events that are unforeseeable, we
						need you to notify us, 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.
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.
						Sufficient notice means 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.
Additional Rights under California Family Rights Act
						(CFRA) Leave
* You also may be entitled to additional rights under the
						California Family Rights Act of 1993 (CFRA) if you have more than 12 months of
						service with us and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month period
						before the date you want to begin your 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 (not related
						to pregnancy) or that of your child, parent or spouse. While the law provides
						only unpaid leave, employees may choose or employers may require use of accrued
						paid leave while taking CFRA leave under certain circumstances. For further
						information on the availability CFRA leave, please review your employer's
						Notice regarding the availability of CFRA leave.
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,
						visit the Civil Rights Department's web-site at
https://calcivilrights.ca.gov
, or
						contact the Department at (800) 884-1684. The text of the FEHA and the
						regulations interpreting it are available on the Civil Rights Department's
						web-site at
https://calcivilrights.ca.gov
.
1. Change
						without regulatory effect renumbering former section
						7291.18 to new section
						11051 and amending section and NOTE
						filed 10-3-2013 pursuant to section
						100, title 1, California Code of
						Regulations (Register 2013, No. 40).
2. Amendment of section heading
						and section filed 12-9-2015; operative 4-1-2016 (Register 2015, No.
						50).
3. Change without regulatory effect amending section filed
						3-20-2023 pursuant to section
						100, title 1, California Code of
						Regulations (Register 2023, No. 12).
Note: Authority cited: Section
						  12935(a),
						  Government Code. Reference: Sections
						  12940 and
						  12945,
						  Government Code; FMLA, 29
						  U.S.C. §
														2601, et seq., and FMLA
						  regulations, 29 C.F.R.
						  §
														825.