I work for a billion dollar company in CA with more than 20,000 employees. I have been on maternity leave since July 1 and is expected to return on Oct. 15. My 2nd level supervisor is planning to reorg, but he's not telling anybody of his plans. I've only heard from my immediate supervisor that he might terminate one underperformer, demote or lay-off me (who scored high on performance review a month before I left) and attempt to find my immediate boss something equivalent, because all three of us haven't delivered results. l feel that he made up the whole thing and he kept asking me before I left whether or not I would come back and he constantly asks my immediate boss while I'm gone. He's not planning to tell me anything until I report back to work, because he knows that he's walking a fine line.
My question is:
1. Can I be demoted or laid off immediately after I go back? If not, how long do they have to wait to break the news?
2. Do I have a case here? There's only 3 of us in the department and he's pulling the "reorg" story. I know that my boss wouldn't lose her job and the other underperformer would lose her job anytime anyway?

Please help.

1.) If the reorganization is legitimate and would have happened regardless of whether you took maternity leave or not, yes, you can. Having taken maternity leave does not protect you from being demoted or laid off; it only protects you from being demoted or laid off BECAUSE you took maternity leave.

2.) If you have a legitimate reason to believe that you are being demoted or fired BECAUSE you took maternity leave, yes. But as I said before, taking maternity leave only protects you from being demoted or fired BECAUSE of your leave, not for reasons that are unconnected with your leave.

All that being said, a couple of thoughts; office rumors often prove to be nothing more than just that. Just because there's a rumor of a reorg doesn't mean it's actually going to happen.

I'm not happy about the fact that you were asked frequently if you were coming back and that he keeps asking when you're coming back. But that in and of itself is not evidence of anything.

The bottom line is that while it's possible that you have a case for pregnancy discrimination, until we see what actually transpires there's no way to say for certain.