Pregnancy discrimination settlement amountsWhat shapes what a case is worth.

It’s natural to want a number. But a pregnancy discrimination settlement is negotiated case by case, from the facts of your situation. The same kind of claim can be worth very different amounts for two different people.

That’s why we don’t quote averages or ranges. A figure you see online reflects someone else’s pay, evidence and employer, and it can set the wrong expectations for your case.

What you can know is what the law lets you recover and what can move the value. Both are below, based on California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and official sources. If you’re still figuring out whether what happened was illegal, start with our pregnancy discrimination examples.

Lost pay and benefits

Lost pay looks at the pay and benefits you would have received if the discrimination hadn’t happened. Pay stubs, offer letters, schedules and benefit records are the starting point. If you were fired, how long you were out of work, or earning less, matters.

Emotional distress

There is no set formula for emotional harm. It is usually shown through your own account and through people who saw the change in you, such as family or friends. Records from a health care provider or counselor can help if you sought care.

Punitive damages

Under California Civil Code §3294, punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence of malice, oppression or fraud. For a company, the conduct generally must be authorized, approved or carried out by an officer, director or managing agent. Public employers, such as cities and state agencies, can’t be ordered to pay punitive damages.

Attorney’s fees and costs

Under FEHA, a court may award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the side that wins. A winning employer can recover them only if the worker’s case was frivolous, unreasonable or groundless when brought.

We work on contingency: our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you. How case costs are handled is spelled out in your written fee agreement.

Federal claims have legal limits

For federal claims under laws like Title VII, a federal statute (42 U.S.C. §1981a) caps combined compensatory and punitive damages based on employer size: $50,000 for employers with 15–100 employees, $100,000 for 101–200, $200,000 for 201–500, and $300,000 for more than 500. These are legal maximums for federal claims, not typical amounts, and they don’t include back pay. California FEHA claims are separate state-law claims.