(a)
The opening rule
Everything listed in (a) is an unlawful employment practice. The only way out is a “bona fide occupational qualification,” a narrow defense for a requirement truly essential to the job.
The statute · Gov. Code §12945
Government Code 12945, explainedCalifornia’s pregnancy leave and accommodation law
Section 12945 is the short statute behind pregnancy leave, health coverage during that leave, and pregnancy accommodations. Here is what each part says, in plain English.
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4monthsMost leave per pregnancy
17⅓weeksFour months for a full-time worker
5+employeesEmployer size (public employers of any size)
0daysTime on the job you need first
The short answer
Government Code 12945 is the part of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) that protects workers disabled by pregnancy. It lets you take up to four months of leave and then return to work. It keeps your employer-paid health coverage going during that leave. It also requires reasonable accommodations and transfers when you ask for them on medical advice. It covers employers with 5 or more employees and public employers.
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
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What Government Code 12945 covers
Section 12945 sits inside FEHA, California’s main civil rights law for work. It is short. Subdivision (a) lists four things an employer may not do, and subdivision (b) says the section does not shrink any other protection.
Most people know it as the source of PDL, the leave you take when your provider says pregnancy keeps you from working. This page reads the statute itself. For a step-by-step guide to using the leave, see our pregnancy disability leave guide.
The statute leans on rules written by the Civil Rights Council, found at 2 CCR §11035 and the sections after it. We note below where a rule comes from those regulations rather than the statute.
Section 12945, subdivision by subdivision
Each card covers one part of the statute. Short quotes are the statute’s own words.
(a)(1)
Up to four months of leave
If pregnancy, childbirth or a related condition disables you, you can take leave for a reasonable period “not to exceed four months,” then return to work. You may use accrued vacation. Your employer can ask for reasonable notice of when leave starts and how long it may last.
(a)(2)
Your health coverage continues
Your employer must keep paying for group health coverage at the usual level during leave, for up to four months in a 12-month period. It can recover premiums only if you don’t come back for reasons other than CFRA leave, a continuing health condition, or things outside your control. For state agency employees, the union contract governs this coverage instead.
(a)(3)(A)
Reasonable accommodation
If you ask, your employer must reasonably accommodate a condition related to pregnancy or childbirth “with the advice of” your health care provider.
(a)(3)(B)
Same transfer policy for you
If your employer has a policy, practice or union contract that lets temporarily disabled workers move to less strenuous or hazardous jobs, it cannot refuse the same transfer to you if you are pregnant and ask for it.
(a)(3)(C)
Temporary transfer on a doctor’s advice
If you ask, on a physician’s advice, your employer must grant a temporary transfer to a “less strenuous or hazardous” job for the rest of your pregnancy if it reasonably can. It does not have to create a job, fire anyone, bump someone with more seniority, or promote someone unqualified.
(a)(4)
No interference
Your employer may not “interfere with, restrain, or deny” these rights, or your attempt to use them.
(b)
Other protections stay in place
Section 12945 does not limit any other law on sex discrimination or pregnancy, including FEHA’s general ban on discrimination in section 12940(a).
What the regulations add
The statute says you return to work as the regulations set out. Those rules, and the Civil Rights Department’s guidance, fill in the details:
- Same job back. You return to the same position. A comparable job is allowed only in limited cases unrelated to your leave, such as a layoff.
- No waiting period. There is no minimum time on the job and no hours requirement.
- Four months, measured fairly. It is the days you would normally work in four calendar months, or 17⅓ weeks for a full-time worker.
- What “disabled by pregnancy” means. Your provider finds you cannot do one or more essential job functions. Examples include severe morning sickness, prenatal care, bed rest, postpartum depression, childbirth, and loss or end of pregnancy.
- Flexible timing. You can take the leave all at once or a little at a time.
- Pay. The leave is unpaid. Your employer may require you to use sick time, unless you are receiving State Disability Insurance (SDI). See is maternity leave paid in California.
Section 12945 vs. section 12945.2 (CFRA)
These two statutes work in sequence, not at the same time.
Gov. Code §12945 (PDL)
- For your own disability from pregnancy, childbirth or a related condition
- Employers with 5 or more employees, and public employers
- No minimum time on the job
- Up to 4 months per pregnancy
- Same job back, except in limited cases
Gov. Code §12945.2 (CFRA)
- For bonding with a new child, family care, or your own serious health condition other than pregnancy
- Employers with 5 or more employees, and public employers
- More than 12 months on the job and 1,250 hours in the past year
- Up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period
- Same or a comparable job back
Government Code 12945 questions
Is Government Code 12945 the same as PDL?
Mostly. Section 12945(a)(1) creates the right to up to four months of leave for a pregnancy-related disability, which is what people call PDL. But the section does more. It also requires continued health coverage, reasonable accommodations, and temporary transfers. It also makes interfering with any of those rights unlawful.
Does section 12945 require my employer to pay me during leave?
No. The leave itself is unpaid, though you may use accrued vacation and your employer may require sick time unless you are receiving SDI. Wage replacement usually comes from State Disability Insurance through the EDD. Your employer must keep paying for your group health coverage during the leave.
Do I have to work somewhere for a year before I can use section 12945?
No. Unlike CFRA, pregnancy leave and accommodations under section 12945 have no minimum length of service and no hours requirement. What matters is that your employer has 5 or more employees or is a public employer, and that your provider finds you are disabled by pregnancy.
Can my employer refuse to move me to lighter work while I’m pregnant?
Only in limited cases. If you ask on a physician’s advice, section 12945(a)(3)(C) requires a temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous job if the employer can reasonably provide one. It does not have to create a new job. See light duty during pregnancy and pregnancy accommodations.
What can I do if my employer violated section 12945?
You generally have 3 years from the unlawful act to file with the California Civil Rights Department, which you must do before suing. After you get a right-to-sue notice, you have 1 year to file a lawsuit. If you were fired, see fired after maternity leave.
Keep reading
Sources
- Gov. Code §12945 (California Public Law mirror)
- Gov. Code §12945 (Justia mirror, 2025 code)
- 2 CCR §11035 (PDL regulations, definitions)
- CRD: Pregnancy Disability Leave fact sheet
- CRD: PDL and bonding leave guide
- Gov. Code §12945.2 (CFRA)
- Gov. Code §12960 (CRD filing deadline)
- Gov. Code §12965 (right to sue)
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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