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Oct 08, 2026
Under California law, an employer generally cannot fire you just because you are pregnant, though there are limits and gray areas that catch a lot of people off guard.
If your gut says the timing was no accident, it usually pays to find out for sure. Esperanza Anderson has spent years representing Pasadena workers in situations exactly like this, and she can help you sort out whether your rights were violated and what comes next.
Is It Illegal to Fire Someone for Being Pregnant in California?
Yes. California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act makes it illegal for an employer to fire, demote, or refuse to hire someone because she is pregnant, has given birth, or has a pregnancy-related medical condition.
This protection covers far more employers than federal law does, reaching any workplace discrimination with five or more employees instead of the fifteen required under federal civil rights statutes. Even at a small Pasadena boutique or a family-owned shop, pregnancy cannot legally be the reason you lose your job, and it does not matter whether a manager says the word out loud or just quietly starts treating you differently once your pregnancy becomes visible. Either way, it can amount to a wrongful termination under state law.
When an Employer Can Still Let a Pregnant Employee Go
Pregnancy alone doesn’t freeze a layoff that would have happened anyway, or erase a termination built on a real, documented problem. If you were missing shifts before anyone knew you were expecting, or if your whole department got cut because a client walked, that decision was probably legal, no matter how it feels right now. California is still an at-will employment state. What they can’t do is use your pregnancy, your morning sickness, your prenatal appointments, or your upcoming leave as the real reason.
That gap between a lawful business decision and a pretext is where most pregnancy discrimination cases live, and it usually comes down to timing, paperwork, and how other employees in the same spot were treated.
Your Right to Job-Protected Leave While Pregnant
State law gives pregnant employees leave rights that exist separately from any discrimination claim. Knowing the difference matters if your employer argues you simply “ran out of leave.”
Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL)
Under the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law, part of FEHA, employees disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition can take up to four months of job-protected, unpaid leave, with no minimum length of employment required to qualify. This leave covers things like severe morning sickness, doctor-ordered bed rest, and physical recovery after delivery, and it runs alongside the federal Family and Medical Leave Act rather than replacing it.
CFRA and Baby Bonding Leave
Once pregnancy disability leave ends, the California Family Rights Act offers a separate 12 weeks of leave to bond with a new child, running after pregnancy disability discrimination leave rather than alongside it. Employers with five or more employees are required to hold the job open during this stretch too, but CFRA has its own eligibility rules. You generally need to have worked for the employer for at least a year and logged at least 1,250 hours in that year. PDL doesn’t have that requirement, so someone new on the job can qualify for PDL even if she can’t yet qualify for CFRA.
Reasonable Accommodations While You’re Still Working
If you’re able to keep working, both the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and California law require your employer (as long as they have more than five or more workers) to consider reasonable accommodations such as more frequent breaks, temporary light duty, or a stool to sit on, unless doing so would cause real undue hardship for the business. Refusing to even discuss these requests before termination is its own separate problem, on top of any discrimination claim.
What to Do If You Were Just Fired While Pregnant
A few steps matter most in the days right after you’re fired.
- Write down the timeline. Note when you told your employer about your pregnancy, when performance conversations changed, and the exact date you were let go.
- Save every email, text, and performance document you can access before your accounts are cut off.
- Ask for the reason in writing. A pattern of shifting or vague explanations is itself a red flag.
- File for unemployment insurance right away. Getting fired over your pregnancy isn’t the kind of “misconduct” that blocks benefits, but you’ll still need to meet the state’s usual requirements, like having earned enough in wages and hour being able and available to work.
Talk to an employment contract before the filing deadline with the California Civil Rights Department closes. If you were fired while pregnant in California, an employment attorney can help you lock down evidence before memories fade and paperwork disappears.
What Compensation You Can Recover
Pregnancy discrimination damages can go well beyond a missed paycheck. When a firing is found to be discriminatory, California law lets you recover more than just your old wages claim.
Compensation can include back pay for wages lost since termination, reinstatement or front pay when returning to your old job isn’t realistic, and damages for emotional distress, and unlike federal civil rights law, California places no cap on those damages. Cases handled through the state’s civil rights agency can also lead to a formal investigation, which adds pressure an individual lawsuit alone might not. Every case is different, and the number that makes sense for yours depends on how long you were out of work, how strong the evidence is, and how the discrimination affected you beyond your paycheck.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a pregnancy discrimination complaint in California?
You generally have three years from the date of the firing to file with the California Civil Rights Department. That deadline was extended from just one year back in 2020, giving workers a lot more breathing room than the federal EEOC’s 300-day window. Waiting a few weeks to gather your thoughts won’t hurt you here, but waiting years will.
What if my employer says I was fired for performance, not pregnancy?
A stated reason like “performance” doesn’t automatically make a firing legal. Investigators and courts look at whether that explanation matches your actual record and whether other employees with similar issues kept their jobs. If the paper trail looks like it was built after the fact, that reason won’t hold up.
Does pregnancy discrimination protection apply if I work part time or just started my job?
Yes, pregnancy disability leave has no minimum length-of-service requirement in California, unlike some other leave laws. Part-time and newly hired employees are just as protected from pregnancy-based firing as anyone with years of tenure. Your hours or start date don’t change your right to be free from this kind of discrimination.
Esperanza Anderson: Your Pasadena Employment Law Firm
If your termination didn’t add up, contact our firm today and find out what your options might look like.
ES