My wife is pregnant and she is due April 4th. Her HR department is giving her a hard time about her maternity leave. She is a full time employee and she has been working there for 2 years, and the company has a few hundred employees. The HR person says that she does not qualify for Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL). He says that pregnancy itself is not a disability under this law. He says there must be a pregnancy related disability such as abnormal bleeding, extremely high blood pressure, fainting spells, etc. It was my understanding that PDL can be used to take 4 weeks off before the birth, 6 weeks after a vaginal birth, or 8 weeks for a c-section. I thought that all pregnant women qualify for this, whether they have complications or not. Am I wrong???

As long as her doctor certifies her as disabled she is entitled to up to four months for actual disability. Most doctors will certify a disability for 4 weeks prior to birth and 6-8 after, even for the most normal pregnancy and births. Complications are not required.

It sounds like she may also be entitled to CFRA, which is an additional 12 weeks on top of the PDL for bonding.

Your wife's HR person is wrong on so many levels. Where do I begin? How about the word "disability" in the Pregnancy DISABILITY Leave??? Sorry, I digress but I spend a lot of time making sure my pregnant employees are given every advantage and knowledge about their leave and now this stupid HR person is giving us all a bad rap.

From the DFEH website: Pregnancy leave is available when a woman is actually disabled. This includes time off needed for prenatal care, severe morning sickness, doctor-
ordered bed rest, childbirth, recovery
from childbirth, or any related medical condition. More information can be found at http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/publications/publications.aspx?showPub=17

What the HR person is probably referencing (or attempting to) is CFRA. Because CA has FMLA and PDL, they specifically state that normal pregnancy is not a disability under the law. This allows people to reserve their 12 weeks of CFRA for bonding. So when they are medically able to return to work post FMLA and PDL, they generally still have 12 weeks of bonding.

Tell the HR person they are wrong and they need to do some basic research before quoting any additional information. Shoot...tell them to post on here, that should set them straight.

Sorry for the rant!

Pregnancy Disability Leave and State Disability Insurance are two separate things, correct? PDL just gives you the right to take job-protected unpaid time off (normally up to 4 wks before and 6-8 wks after birth), and SDI will pay you 55-60% for up to 6 wks during this time? Her HR guy is still trying to say that she only gets 12 wks of FMLA, and he is pressuring her to turn in the form saying that she is only going to take FMLA.

Yes, you know more about pregnancy leave in CA than her HR guy. (unless she is a teacher or her company has a private disability insurance plan).

SDI is compensation for up to 1 year as long as she has medical certification stating she should be off work. SDI can be used for anything from pregnancy, a broken arm, or psyche.

Barring that she is a teacher (whole different set of rules there), she should use PDL/FMLA for the pregnancy disability. Once she is done with that, she will still have her CFRA entitlement.

The law is very clear in CA that pregnant employees are entitled to both PDL and CFRA (assuming they are eligible). If they incorrectly count her PDL time as CFRA/FMLA time, they are asking for trouble. It's their responsibility to correctly designate the time.

It is very frustrating. I think the only issue we have is his definition of disability. He thinks that if you have a normal pregnancy and a normal delivery, then you do not qualify for PDL. What are the requirements for PDL stated under California law? Does anyone have a referral for somewhere that we can get legal assistance with this matter? We live in Ventura County, near Los Angeles.

Does he know that prenatal appointments and morning sickness also count as "disability" under PDL? Is he saying he will refuse a doctor's certification of her disability just because he doesn't think she is having complications?

You should go to the DFEH for more info. They are the ones that enforce these laws and they have publications on their website that you can print off and take to the employer.

Agree with Endeavor. DFEH enforces PDL. Here is a link to the complaint process:

http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/complaints/Default.aspx?process=employment#main_content_1

The website is www.dfeh.ca.gov

I would use this remedy rather than going to a private attorney. While both are good remedies, DFEH won't take a portion of any monetary award.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Does it matter if her employer is a non-profit organization? Is she still entitled to the same benefits?

Does it matter if her employer is a non-profit organization? Is she still entitled to the same benefits?

It does not matter. If they employ 5 or more persons they are covered under PDL. CFRA has a more stringent requirement. Their non-profit status does not affect her eligibility regardless.

It could be a violation of the F.M.L.A if the employer qualifies. Agency action is not required under the F.M.L.A

Re the pregnancy disability leave, what kind of non-profit org. does she work for? Might it be a non-profit religious assoc. or corp.?

Did HR say anything about it not applying due to being non-profit since you asked about it?

True, if they are a religious organization or corporation, they are not considered an "employer" for PDL purposes (except, I believe, religious educational institutions). Interestingly, they are still bound by CFRA, assuming they were otherwise covered, regardless of their religious nature.

The HR guy only said she does not qualify for PDL because she is having a normal pregnancy without any severe complications, and pregnancy itself is not a disability. My wife works for the YMCA. I don't think they are considered a religious organization, are they?

The Young Men's Christian Association is a 501(c) organization. If that helps any?

The 501(c)(3) status is not relevant. What is relevant is whether they are a religious corporation. You'd have to look at their articles of incorporation and see if they are incorporated under the nonprofit religious corporation law.

I don't believe they are considered a religious corporation. They are a charitable organization, and that is why they have 501(c)(3) status. If they were a religious organization he would have the right to deny my wife's PDL for this reason alone. But that is not why he doesn't want to grant her the PDL. He says that she is eligible for PDL if she has a serious health condition.

We just got a letter from him stating what we need to do. In it he states, "Since in your request you indicated that you have a pregnancy related disability, we will need you to provide certification from a medical provider to support your claim. I've enclosed a US DOL Certification of Health Care Provider along with a copy of your job description. Your provider will need to complete the applicable sections of the form that address the nature of the incapacity due to pregnancy, the dates of the incapacity, and the essential job functions the incapacity prevents you from performing. Please bear in mind that under FMLA, CFRA, and CPDA, pregnancy alone is not a disability".

Then he also included a form titled "Notice of Eligibility and Rights & Responsibilities (Family Medical Leave Act)" from the U.S. Department of Labor. On the form he checked the line that says she needs leave for "Your own serious health condition" instead of the line that says she needs leave for "The birth of a child, or placement of a child with you for adoption or foster care".

What is he trying to do?

I Please bear in mind that under FMLA, CFRA, and CPDA, pregnancy alone is not a disability".
Thats not true.

He is incorrectly designating PDL and CFRA. He needs to understand that FMLA is not really relevant here. It just overlaps with PDL and CFRA, but has no independent effect in this case.

This is how her time off should be designated:

4 weeks prior to birth, PDL
6-8 weeks following birth, PDL
12 weeks following exhaustion of PDL, CFRA for bonding purposes

Have her doctor certify her disabled for the time she wants off work. Most doctors will certify disability for 4 weeks prior to 6 weeks postpartum. As long as they designate that time as PDL, and not CFRA, there isn't a problem (aside from the fact that they are not providing her with notice of her PDL rights).

You should print off the information provided by the DFEH on their website and bring it into the employer. Suggest they call in and ask the DFEH for clarification because you believe they are incorrectly applying the law.

Is there an equivalent form for PDL to the one that he wants us to fill out for FMLA? Does the state of California require a form to be submitted for PDL to take effect (either by the employer or the employee)?

I appreciate all the advice from everyone on this board. It has been extremely helpful during all these frustrating interactions that we have had with her employer.

No, there is no required form. It is up to the employer to properly designate the leave time.

Do they have an employee handbook? There should be information pertaining to both PDL and FMLA/CFRA in the handbook. Did she receive any information pertaining to PDL?

In the letter I referenced above, he sent brochures for both Pregnency Leave and the California Family Rights Act that are published by the DFEH. But he must not be reading those brochures himself because it clearly states that pregnancy leave is available for childbirth and recovery from childbirth.