Pregnancy discrimination examplesFrom the interview to your first day back.

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) treats pregnancy discrimination as sex discrimination. Under FEHA, “sex” includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions.

Civil Rights Department (CRD) rules list what an employer may not do because of pregnancy or perceived pregnancy (being treated as if you are pregnant), including:

• refusing to hire or promote you, or firing you
• treating you worse in pay, hours or duties
• harassing you
• moving you to another job over your objection
• making you take leave
• retaliating when you speak up

These rules cover employers with 5 or more employees. Harassment rules cover employers with even 1 employee. At 15 or more employees, federal law also applies.

An example here is not automatically a winning case. Employers can raise defenses, so the real question is why the decision was made. For the full overview, see our pregnancy discrimination hub.

The offer disappears after you mention your due date

You mention your pregnancy after accepting a job, and days later the offer is withdrawn.

Why it may be illegal: CRD rules bar refusing to hire an applicant because of pregnancy or perceived pregnancy. Read more about a job offer rescinded because of pregnancy.

Questions about your family plans, then a rejection

An interviewer asks whether you plan to have children, and the job goes to someone else.

Why it may be illegal: If pregnancy played a part in the decision, that may be discrimination, and the question can be evidence of what the decision-maker was thinking. Federal law (15+ employees) also covers potential pregnancy. See our guide to workplace discrimination.

Leave denied when pregnancy keeps you from working

Your provider puts you on bed rest, and your employer says you haven’t been there long enough for leave.

Why it may be illegal: Employers with 5 or more employees, and public employers of any size, must give up to 4 months of leave per pregnancy while you are disabled by it. There is no minimum time on the job. See our PDL guide.

Bonding leave denied or held against you

Your bonding leave request is denied, or your next review mentions your “time away.”

Why it may be illegal: If you qualify for CFRA (5+ employees, more than 12 months and 1,250 hours on the job), you can take up to 12 weeks to bond with a new child. Denying it, interfering with it or retaliating for it is unlawful. See parental leave and bonding.

Punished for time off after a pregnancy loss

After a miscarriage, you take a few days off and come back to a write-up or a colder schedule.

Why it may be illegal: At employers with 5 or more employees, and public employers, you can take up to 5 days off after a miscarriage, stillbirth or other reproductive loss once you’ve worked there 30 days. Retaliating against you for taking it is unlawful. Read fired after a miscarriage and our guide to time off after a loss.

No breaks to pump

You’re told to wait until lunch, or that pumping breaks “aren’t in the schedule.”

Why it may be illegal: California requires a reasonable amount of break time each time you need to express milk, and your employer cannot require documentation for it. See lactation breaks under Labor Code §1030.

Told to pump in a bathroom

The only place offered is a restroom stall, or a storage closet anyone can walk into.

Why it may be illegal: The space cannot be a bathroom. It must be close to your work area, shielded from view and free from intrusion, with a surface to place your pump, a place to sit and electricity.

Employers with fewer than 50 employees can claim undue hardship for a specific requirement, but must still make reasonable efforts to provide a place other than a toilet stall. Read lactation accommodation rights.

Mocked or written up for pumping

Why it may be illegal: Breastfeeding is part of “sex” under FEHA, so treating you worse for it can be discrimination. A denied break or space can also mean one hour of premium pay per violation through a wage claim.