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 11042 - Pregnancy Disability Leave

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
The following provisions apply to leave taken for
						disability because of pregnancy.
(a)
					 Four-Month Leave Requirement for all Employers. All employers must provide a
					 leave of up to four months, as needed, for the period(s) of time an employee is
					 actually disabled because of pregnancy, even if an employer has a policy or
					 practice that provides less than four months of leave for other similarly
					 situated, temporarily disabled employees. Pregnancy disability leave does not
					 need to be taken in one continuous period of time.
(1) Employees are eligible for up to four
					 months of leave per pregnancy, not per year. A "four month leave" means time
					 off for the number of days or hours the employee would normally work within
					 four calendar months (one-third of a year or 17 1/3 weeks). For a full time
					 employee who works 40 hours per week, "four months" means 693 hours of leave
					 entitlement, based on 40 hours per week times 17 1/3 weeks.
(2) For employees who work more or less than
					 40 hours per week, or who work on variable work schedules, the number of
					 working days that constitutes four months is calculated on a pro rata or
					 proportional basis.
(A) For example, for an
					 employee who works 20 hours per week, "four months" means 346.5 hours of leave
					 entitlement. For an employee who normally works 48 hours per week, "four
					 months" means 832 hours of leave entitlement.
(B) Leave on an intermittent leave or a
					 reduced work schedule.
An employer may account for increments of intermittent
						leave using an increment no greater than the shortest period of time that the
						employer uses to account for use of other forms of leave, provided it is not
						greater than one hour. For example, if an employer accounts for sick leave in
						30-minute increments and vacation time in one-hour increments, the employer
						must account for pregnancy disability leave in increments of 30 minutes or
						less. If an employer accounts for other forms of leave in two-hour increments,
						the employer must account for pregnancy disability leave in increments no
						greater than one hour.
(C)
					 If a holiday falls within a week taken as pregnancy disability leave, the week
					 is nevertheless counted as a week of pregnancy disability leave. If, however,
					 the employer's business activity has temporarily ceased for some reason and
					 employees generally are not expected to report for work for one or more weeks,
					 (e.g., a school closing for two weeks for the Christmas/New Year holiday or
					 summer vacation or an employer closing the plant for retooling), the days the
					 employer's activities have ceased do not count against the employee's pregnancy
					 disability leave entitlement.
(3) Although all pregnant employees are
					 eligible for up to four months of leave, if that leave is taken in one period
					 of time, taking intermittent or reduced work schedule throughout an employee's
					 pregnancy will differentially affect the number of hours remaining that an
					 employee is entitled to take pregnancy disability leave leading up to and after
					 childbirth, depending on the employee's regular work schedule.
(A) For example, a full-time employee, who
					 normally works a 40-hour work week is entitled to 693 working hours of leave.
					 If that employee takes 180 hours of intermittent leave throughout her
					 pregnancy, she would still be entitled to take 513 hours, or approximately
					 three months leading up to and after her childbirth.
(B) In contrast, a part-time employee who
					 normally works 20 hours per week, would be entitled to 346.5 hours of leave. If
					 that employee takes intermittent leave of 180 hours throughout her pregnancy,
					 she would be entitled to only 166.5 more hours of leave, approximately two
					 months of leave, leading up to and after her childbirth.
(4) Minimum Duration. Leave may be taken
					 intermittently or on a reduced work schedule when an employee is disabled
					 because of pregnancy, as determined by the health care provider of the
					 employee. An employer may account for increments of intermittent leave using
					 the shortest period of time that the employer's payroll system uses to account
					 for other forms of leave, provided it is not greater than one hour, as set
					 forth in section
					 11042(a)(2)(B).