It’s crucial for employers to understand their obligations under both California and federal leave and disability laws—especially given the recent changes to California’s pregnancy disability leave (PDL) regulations. Let’s start with some PDL basics:
California employers must “provide up to 4 months of leave for an employee who is disabled by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.” Cathleen S. Yonahara explained in a recent CER webinar. This is the general requirement of the PDL statute. It also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation for pregnant women. Employers are also required to temporarily transfer a pregnant female employee to a less strenuous or hazardous position if needed. All employees disabled by pregnancy or related medical conditions are eligible, regardless of their length of service or length of work schedule.
There are several new PDL regulations that became effective on December 30, 2012. These include new notice requirements, new medical certification requirements, and a new list of covered conditions.
This is merely a sampling of the updated PDL requirements; it is not a comprehensive list. Be sure to review the new regulations in full before making any PDL-related decisions.
New pregnancy disability leave requirements in California: New notice requirements
Employers must post the new applicable PDL notice (“Notice A” for employers with less than 50 employees, and “Notice B” for employers with 50 or more employees). The new notice must also be distributed to pregnant individuals. Be sure to provide a copy of the notice as soon as possible after the employee tells the employer of the pregnancy, or sooner if the employee inquires at all about reasonable accommodations, transfers, or pregnancy disability leave.
Employee handbooks should be updated to include a description of reasonable accommodation, transfer, and pregnancy disability leave. Alternatively, employers must distribute a copy of its notice annually if it is not included in the handbook, or if the employer does not have an employee handbook.
For any California employer with 10 percent or more non-English speaking (where English is not their primary language) workforce at any facility, the employer must translate the notice.
New pregnancy disability leave requirements in California: New medical certification requirements
The employer may require a written medical certification as a condition of granting reasonable accommodation, transfer, or PDL. The employer must notify the employee of:
- The need to provide medical certification
- The deadline for providing the certification
- What constitutes sufficient medical certificatio
- Consequences for failing to provide medical certification
A new model certification form has been provided with the PDL regulations on the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) website.
New pregnancy disability leave requirements in California: New list of covered conditions
“Keep in mind that you may be accommodating employees not just during the pregnancy, but also post-partum, due either to recovery from childbirth or if they’re suffering post partum depression—anything like that would be covered under what we call PDL.” Yonahara noted. The updated PDL regulations include coverage for:
- Severe morning sickness
- Prenatal or postnatal care
- Bed rest
- Gestational diabetes
- Pregnancy-induced hypertension
- Preeclampsia
- Childbirth
- Recovery from childbirth
- Mastitis (inflammation of the mammary gland)
- Post-partum depression
- Loss or end of pregnancy
The last two topics above are new to the updated regulations.
Remember, this is merely a sampling of the updated PDL requirements. Be sure to review the new regulations in full before making any PDL-related decisions.
The above information is excerpted from the webinar “New Moms in the California Workplace: Your Leave and Accommodation Obligations Explained.” To register for a future webinar, visit CER webinars.
Cathleen Yonahara is an associate at Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP in San Francisco. She represents and advises clients in all areas of labor and employment law, including Title VII, the ADA, ADEA, FEHA, FMLA, CFRA, and the California Labor Code.