Can an employer in California fire a pregnant woman for missing work due to complications with pregnancy?
February 4, 2010 by admin
Filed under Questions and Answers
jacquitta78 asked:
my cousin is having complications with her pregnancy and has missed a couple days of work for doctor appointments. Her boss told her if she missed a weeks worth of days she would be fired. is this legal in ca with valid doctor excuses/notes?
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my cousin is having complications with her pregnancy and has missed a couple days of work for doctor appointments. Her boss told her if she missed a weeks worth of days she would be fired. is this legal in ca with valid doctor excuses/notes?
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amosunknown on Fri, 5th Feb 2010 11:26 am
I wouldnt think so. She can call and find out the local labor laws.
babydoll on Mon, 8th Feb 2010 12:28 am
Check the family leave laws: This is for California
Family and medical: public employers and private employers of 50 or more employees are required to offer 12 weeks in any 12 month period for leave to care for the birth or adoption of a child or upon the serious illness of the employee, a child, spouse or parent; employees who are temporarily disabled for medical reasons, including pregnancy and childbirth, can receive partial wage replacement through the state’s Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program
vanamont7 on Mon, 8th Feb 2010 8:37 pm
There’re a lot of things happening in California nobody wants to talk about.
wlndslnger on Thu, 11th Feb 2010 9:36 pm
Good question, but you would have to look at the rules of the company, some of the fine print isnt pregnancy friendly. If in doubt, get a lawyer to help you out.
korkasion_doap on Sat, 13th Feb 2010 8:19 am
Probably. Although your cousin can’t help it, most employers want people working for them who are reliable. There are so many people looking for work, most of them not pregnant.
SweetGirl on Mon, 15th Feb 2010 4:32 am
They have a legal right to fire you if you are not fulfilling your duites. And not being at work is considered not doing your duties. It just happened to a friend of mines. And alot of jobs have “At-Will” policies, where they can terminate employment with no “reasons”.
IT SUCKS!!
Morgan on Thu, 18th Feb 2010 6:49 am
it’s agaisnt the law to fire someone over pregnacy. check out the pregnacy and labor laws in your area.
Meesh on Sat, 20th Feb 2010 6:19 pm
It is not legal in any state. Tell your cousin to get a copy of the Federal Family Medical Leave Act, and a copy of the California Family Medical Leave Act. If her supervisor continues to threaten her, she will need to make documentation and if need be file a harrassment report. She will need to become familiar with the grievance process at her job if this is the case.
kswildangel on Tue, 23rd Feb 2010 5:38 am
You would need to research the labor laws in California, and MOST IMPORTANT read the contract and handbook that she signed when getting hired at her employer. They are usually really specific with it.
If she has FMLA, that’s usually for a solid block of missing work, and it guarentees her job . . . but usually for maternity leave.
If she has PTO or sick time that she can use, and a legit excuse, MOST employers will overlook it, especially with a pregnancy.
#1 is to read her employee handbook and see what their policy on missing work is. Like I said, they’re usually within their limits, but if they overstep their own policies, she has every right to fight them on it. . . but why would she want to keep working there if she doesn’t feel secure working there because of their additude about this? If they DO fire her, and you think they were out of line, contact a lawyer to look over the handbook, and keep ALL of the doctors notes (or copies of them) and make the company put their “warnings” into writing . . . because if it’s not written down, she has no case.
Good luck! Wish her the best for me!
BTW FYI I know Kansas has an “at will” employment policy, but you CAN consider firing someone because they are pregnant as descrimination . . . with the right lawyer. . . just remember it’s all about the attorneys and making sure everything is written down as proof.
Acadia on Thu, 25th Feb 2010 7:39 pm
No, it’s not. It’s considered a disability for job purposes. They have to allow her adequate leave to get proper medical care … just like with any disability.
He is just looking for an EXCUSE to fire her (saying that she missed too much work) because he can’t say it’s due to the pregnancy.
She needs to talk to her company’s Human Resources department right away, or at least this guy’s direct supervisor. If he’s really “the boss” she should contact a lawyer and get a consultation to find out what her rights are. The threat of a lawsuit may be enough to dissuade him from firing her. But if he’s determined he’ll do it anyway, and then she’ll just have to sue him.
Kristin on Sun, 28th Feb 2010 5:18 pm
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides an entitlement of up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave during any 12-month period to eligible, covered employees for the following reasons: 1) birth and care of the eligible employee’s child, or placement for adoption or foster care of a child with the employee; 2) care of an immediate family member (spouse, child, parent) who has a serious health condition; or 3) care of the employee’s own serious health condition. It also requires that employee’s group health benefits be maintained during the leave. The FMLA is administered by the Employment Standards Administration’s Wage and Hour Division within the U.S. Department of Labor.
FMLA applies to all:
public agencies, including state, local and federal employers, local education agencies (schools), and
private-sector employers who employed 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year and who are engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce — including joint employers and successors of covered employers.
To be eligible for FMLA benefits, an employee must:
work for a covered employer;
have worked for the employer for a total of 12 months*;
have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months*; and
work at a location in the United States or in any territory or possession of the United States where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.
JL on Wed, 3rd Mar 2010 7:44 pm
California is a ” Work at will” state, which means either party ( your cousin or her boss) can treminate the work agreement. However if the basis of her boss letting her go is due to days of work missed becasue of pregnancy problems, then NO. It’s discrminiation and it’s illegal.!! ask your cousin to get a copy of her jobs ” employee handbook”. Carefully look over the maturnity section. Afterwords, call the Labor Board . You should be able to call 411 ans ask for it. It’s a state or U.S listing! and talk to someone there for a few minutes. If he does fire her, Then I recommend you file a claim with them as well. There should be some type of re-embursment!
But in whatever you do Good Luck, and Merry Christmas!
JENNIFER M on Fri, 5th Mar 2010 4:52 pm
i don’t know the laws in California but in pa unless you are part of the union most employers are at will employers meaning that they can fire anyone at their discretion
victory on Sat, 6th Mar 2010 6:24 pm
Gee, I’d sure like a whole office full of people like that working for me! Missing work; taking leave; calling in with all manner of doctor’s appointments…and, after the three or four months’ leave, taking time off for assorted baby-care emergencies!
No one would get anything done, and the business would fold in a year, but it wouldn’t matter because the mothers could all find other penny-ante jobs elsewhere, and who gives a toss about my company, anyway?
Remember: it’s all about YOU!
Crystal on Sun, 7th Mar 2010 5:21 pm
It is against the law to fire someone because they are pregnant. Missing work due to pregnancy is a different story. The rules vary from state to state so you will just have to find out from a lawyer in your state. In most states if you miss work, they can terminate you regardless of a doctor’s note or not. These are the at-will states. Some places, such as where I work, run on point systems, you are only allowed so many points, even with doctor’s excuses it takes away a point, and you are gone. it sucks, but it is true.