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Light duty · Pregnancy
Light duty during pregnancy in CaliforniaLifting limits, transfers and your paycheck
If your job means heavy lifting, long hours on your feet or hazards, California law lets you ask for lighter work on your provider’s advice. Here is what your employer must do, and what it cannot do.
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5+employeesCalifornia’s light duty and transfer rights apply
15+employeesFederal PWFA also applies
4monthsLeave if you can’t work at all
3yearsTo file a complaint with CRD
The short answer
Often, yes. At California employers with 5 or more employees, you can ask for light duty, such as lifting limits or changed tasks, as a reasonable accommodation on your health care provider’s advice. On your doctor’s advice, your employer must also temporarily transfer you to a less strenuous or hazardous job if it reasonably can. It need not create a job, and it generally cannot force leave you didn’t request.
From the California labor lawyers at Employees First Labor Law, led by Jonathan P. LaCour, CEO · Senior Trial Counsel. Meet our team. Updated November 2026
On this page
- Do you have a right to light duty while pregnant in California?
- Lifting restrictions while pregnant: what light duty can look like
- Temporary transfer to a less strenuous position: the rules
- Light duty in your own job vs a transfer to another job
- Forced leave instead of light duty
- Can your employer say no to light duty? A quick check
- How to ask for light duty: a copyable request letter
- The federal PWFA: light duty at employers with 15 or more employees
- Past results for pregnant workers
- Light duty and pregnancy: common questions
- Keep reading
Do you have a right to light duty while pregnant in California?
California law doesn’t use the words “light duty.” Instead, Government Code §12945 gives you three related rights at employers with 5 or more employees. There is no minimum time on the job.
- Reasonable accommodation. Your employer may not refuse a reasonable accommodation for a condition related to pregnancy when you ask with your health care provider’s advice. Changing your duties is one example.
- Temporary transfer. On your physician’s advice, your employer must temporarily transfer you to a less strenuous or hazardous position if it can reasonably do so.
- Equal treatment. If your employer moves other temporarily disabled workers to lighter work under a policy, practice or union contract, it must do the same for you when you ask.
For the full range of changes you can ask for, see our guide to pregnancy accommodations. For your other rights at work, start at our pregnancy discrimination hub.
Lifting restrictions while pregnant: what light duty can look like
California’s pregnancy accommodation law does not set a weight limit. Your limits come from your provider’s advice. These changes come from California’s rules and the EEOC’s examples.
Lifting
Help with lifting
A co-worker, cart or lift handles heavy loads. The EEOC lists this example.
Seating
A stool or chair
California’s rules list furniture, such as a stool or chair, as an accommodation.
Breaks
More frequent breaks
Extra breaks to rest, use the restroom or drink water.
Schedule
Different hours
Earlier or later hours.
Transfer
A different job for now
A temporary move to a less strenuous or hazardous position.
Temporary transfer to a less strenuous position: the rules
When your employer must transfer you
Under California’s regulations, your employer may not deny a transfer request when your health care provider advises that the transfer is medically advisable and the transfer can reasonably be accommodated. If your employer says it can’t, it carries the burden of showing why. It may ask for a medical certification of your need.
What your employer does not have to do
It does not have to create a job it would not otherwise create, fire anyone, move a more senior worker out of a position, break a union contract, or put you in a job you are not qualified for.
Your pay, and getting your old job back
If your provider says you need intermittent leave or a reduced schedule, your employer may require a temporary transfer to an open position that fits those needs better. That position must have equivalent pay and benefits, though the duties can differ. For other transfers, the rules don’t spell out the pay, so ask in writing before you agree.
When your provider says the transfer is no longer medically advisable, your employer must return you to your same or a comparable position. Outside that reduced-schedule rule, your employer may not transfer you over your objection because you are pregnant. It can still make transfers for real business needs unrelated to pregnancy.
Light duty in your own job vs a transfer to another job
Most workers ask for changes in their own job first.
Light duty in your own job
- Fits when you can do your job with some changes
- Triggered by a request with your provider’s advice
- Examples: lifting help, a stool, breaks, fewer risky tasks
- Your employer must talk with you in good faith about what will work
- If it cuts your hours, those hours may count against your 4 months of pregnancy leave
Temporary transfer
- Fits when the job itself is too strenuous or hazardous
- Triggered by your doctor’s advice
- Required only if your employer can reasonably do it
- No duty to create a job or bump a senior worker
- Ends when your provider says it is no longer needed; then your job comes back
Forced leave instead of light duty
Some employers answer a doctor’s note by sending a pregnant worker home. California’s pregnancy regulations generally make it unlawful to require you to take a leave of absence because of pregnancy when you have not asked for leave. Refusing a reasonable accommodation or transfer, or interfering with your right to one, is also unlawful.
At employers with 15 or more employees, the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) says the same thing another way: an employer may not require you to take leave if another reasonable accommodation would let you keep working.
If you truly can’t work, leave may be the right answer. You then have up to 4 months of pregnancy disability leave, and pay through SDI for pregnancy. EDD says you can apply for SDI if your provider finds your usual job medically unsafe during pregnancy.
Can your employer say no to light duty? A quick check
General information, not legal advice about your case.
A quick yes-or-no check
- California’s light duty rules may not apply The accommodation and transfer rules start at 5 employees. Harassment rules cover employers of any size. If your provider says you can’t work, you may still qualify for SDI. See rights at a small employer .
- Get your provider’s advice in writing first Your rights to light duty and a transfer turn on your provider’s advice. Ask for a note that lists your limits and how long they last. Then use the letter below.
- That may be unlawful California’s rules generally bar requiring a pregnant employee to take leave she did not ask for. Save the note, your request and the reply, and talk with a lawyer.
- That may be unlawful Your employer must take part in a good-faith back-and-forth with you about what will work. Refusing without one, or punishing you for asking, can violate California law. Read about pregnancy retaliation .
- Your employer may be within the law, for now An employer can offer a different change that still meets your provider’s advice, and it does not have to create a job. If it says a transfer isn’t possible, it must be able to show why.
How to ask for light duty: a copyable request letter
A clear written request starts the process and creates a record.
Talk with your provider about your job
Describe what you lift, how long you stand, and any ladders, heat or chemicals. Ask for a note with specific limits and dates. It need not state your diagnosis.
Send a written request
Email your manager and HR, attach the note and keep a copy. Ask for light duty, with a transfer as a back-up.
Light duty or transfer request letterSubject: Request for light duty or temporary transfer during pregnancy Hi [Manager or HR name], I am pregnant. My health care provider has advised that from [date] until [date / my delivery], I should [for example: not lift more than __ pounds; avoid ladders; avoid exposure to (substance); sit as needed]. A note from my provider is attached. I am asking for one of the following: 1. Light duty in my current job, such as [help with lifting / removing these tasks: ___ / a stool], as a reasonable accommodation under Government Code section 12945(a)(3)(A); or 2. A temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position, such as [position], under Government Code section 12945(a)(3)(C). I want to keep working. Please do not place me on leave unless I request it. I am open to other options that follow my provider’s advice. Please reply in writing by [date]. If you propose a transfer, please include the pay, hours and duties. Thank you, [Your name] [Date]
Work through the options
Your employer may suggest something else. Answer in writing and note the date of each conversation.
If you are refused or sent home
Send a short written follow-up and save it. You generally have 3 years to file with the Civil Rights Department (CRD). See how to file a pregnancy discrimination complaint.
The federal PWFA: light duty at employers with 15 or more employees
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act took effect June 27, 2023. It covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. They must provide reasonable accommodations for known limits related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, unless that would cause an undue hardship. The EEOC’s examples include light duty, help with lifting or other manual labor, a stool, and breaks to drink water. Employers may not punish you for asking.
The 2025 court ruling. The EEOC’s rule carrying out the law took effect June 18, 2024. On May 21, 2025, a federal court in Louisiana set aside that rule only to the extent it required employers to accommodate elective abortions, finding that part went beyond the EEOC’s authority. The ruling did not address light duty or lifting limits, and it does not change California law, which protects you at 5 or more employees. See our PWFA in California page.
Past results for pregnant workers
Cases our firm has resolved for pregnant workers.
$1,950,000Settlement · Pregnancy discrimination and wrongful termination
$1,800,000Settlement · Pregnancy discrimination
$950,000Settlement · Pregnancy discrimination and wrongful termination (hospital employee fired after requesting pregnancy accommodations)
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and depends on its own facts.
Light duty and pregnancy: common questions
Can my employer refuse light duty when I am pregnant in California?
Not without a good reason. At employers with 5 or more employees, your employer may not refuse a reasonable accommodation you ask for on your provider’s advice. It must also grant a temporary transfer to a less strenuous position on your doctor’s advice if it reasonably can. It need not create a job or bump a senior worker.
How much can I lift at work while pregnant?
California’s pregnancy accommodation law does not set a number. Your health care provider recommends your limits based on your health and your job. Ask for a specific limit in writing, such as a weight and how long it applies.
Will I be paid the same on light duty or after a transfer?
If your employer moves you to another position because you need intermittent leave or a reduced schedule, California’s rules require equivalent pay and benefits. For other transfers, the rules do not spell out the pay. Ask in writing before you agree. A pay cut because you are pregnant can be discrimination; see demoted because of pregnancy.
Can my employer make me take leave instead of giving me light duty?
California’s pregnancy rules generally make it unlawful to require you to take a leave of absence because of pregnancy when you have not asked for leave. At employers with 15 or more employees, the federal PWFA also bars forcing leave when another reasonable accommodation would work.
Does my employer have to create a light-duty job for me?
No. California does not require an employer to create a job it would not otherwise create. But if a less strenuous position is available and the transfer can reasonably be done, your employer generally must transfer you on your doctor’s advice.
What if my employer has fewer than 5 employees?
California’s pregnancy accommodation, transfer and leave rules apply at 5 or more employees, and the federal PWFA at 15 or more. Harassment because of pregnancy is unlawful at employers of any size. If your provider says you can’t work, you may still get SDI, which depends on your wages, not your employer’s size.
Keep reading
Sources
- Gov. Code §12945
- 2 CCR §11035 (definitions)
- 2 CCR §11039 (unlawful practices)
- 2 CCR §11040 (reasonable accommodation)
- 2 CCR §11041 (transfer)
- CRD: PDL fact sheet
- CRD: Your rights as a pregnant employee
- EEOC: What you should know about the PWFA
- EDD: Pregnancy leave steps
- Workplace Fairness: Court vacates part of PWFA rule (2025)
This page gives general information about California law as of November 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different; talk with a lawyer about yours.
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