Re: On SDI/FMLA in CA & Laid Off

If and when you are denied legally protected leave, or are illegally discriminated or retaliated against, then you can consider legal claims.

If your CA employer has at least 5 employees, they can not fire you because you are pregnant, must allow you to continue working as long as you are able, must 'reasonably' accommodate your disability, and must allow up to 4 months of unpaid pregnancy leave under FEHA.

If your CA employer has at least 50 employees, and you are employed for at least 12 months, have at least 1,250 hours worked in the 12 months prior to the leave, then you would be eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA/CFRA maternity/medical leave when the employee is unable to work, or must care for an immediate family member, because of a ‘serious health condition’, continuation of group health benefits, restoration to the same or an equivalent job upon return to work, with accrued benefits.

If you qualify for both, you get both. If you are out longer than those guarantees, they can fire you.

Upon termination from employment, you are entitled to COBRA conversion of your medical benefits [if any], allowing you to pay for and retain your insurance coverage.

Now, if they violate those rules, contact me for the legal help you'll need.

If they can show the lay off was business justified and necessary, then regardless of pregnancy, you can be laid off. They risk 'discrimination' claims though, since it 'smells' bad.

Re: On SDI/FMLA in CA & Laid Off

Based on what you described, the company did not violate the law. Basically, terminating an employee who is "protected" is only unlawful if the reason for termination is being a member of the protected class. Here, assuming that it's true that the decision to lay off was made before request for FMLA, and the fact that other employees were also terminated, means that you were not singled out because of your condition.

The other issue is, of course, the fact that they knew you were pregnant way before you requested FMLA because pregnancy is an obvious condition. The knew that you were going to request leave as every other woman. Whether choosing you for a lay-off was motivated by your condition but "masked" with the reasoning you received is a question of facts and evidence available.

Thanks,

Arkady Itkin

San Francisco & Sacramento Employment Lawyer