We're back with Part 4 of Leave on Me, our exploration of leave of absence law. In this installment we discuss pregnancy leave. Becoming a mom is an exciting time in a woman's life. The last thing that an expecting mother needs to worry about is potentially losing her job because she needs to take time off for her pregnancy.

As mentioned in Part 2 of Leave on Me, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does consider pregnancy a serious health condition that will qualify for leave. The California Family Rights Act (CFRA), however does not consider pregnancy a serious health condition. Rather, in California there is the Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) which covers leave for expectant mothers.

While FMLA and CFRA only applies to employers with 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius, PDL covers employers with 5 or more employees. PDL allows for up to 4 months leave for disability caused by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. Related medical conditions includes prenatal visits, intermittent leave, reduced work schedule, postpartum depression, & loss or end pregnancy. PDL offers the employee the right to return to her same job, as opposed to FMLA or CFRA which gives the employee the right to the same or comparable job.

While CFRA does not consider pregnancy to be a serious health condition, CFRA does allow for baby bonding time. An employee could therefore 4 months of PDL during the pregnancy and then take 12 weeks of CFRA subsequent to the birth. In specific instances, a pregnant employee may be allowed to take her CFRA baby bonding time during the pregnancy but only if the following requirements are met:

The employee has exhausted her PDL; and
The employer and employee voluntarily agree to allow her to take her CFRA early.

If you have any questions about pregnancy leaves of absence call the attorneys at The Rad Firm, APC for a free consultation.