By; Betsy Johnson
The California Fair Employment & Housing Commission (FEHC) is currently considering proposed Regulations that would provide guidance on the interpretation of California’s pregnancy disability leave (PDL) law. The PDL law is codified at California Government Code sec. 12945, and employers with 5 or more employees in California are covered by this statute.
The PDL law allows employees who are disabled as a result of “pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions” to take up to a maximum of 4 months of unpaid disability leave, if certified by their health care provider. An employee who takes PDL must be returned to their former position after the completion of PDL and, realistically, the only defense to reinstatement is that the employee’s position no longer exists.