Many people find maternity leave to be complicated and challenging. Even if the laws and regulations seem daunting, it’s easy to become well-educated on the topic and gain a strong understanding about your rights and privileges as part of maternity leave. Maternity leave in the state of California is much better than most other states and you will find a lot more protection than in other areas.

Here are a few important facts about maternity leave in California.

Most pregnant women are eligible for maternity leave, no matter the type of employment they have. You have the right to take maternity leave, but employers are not required to pay you during your time off.

However, pregnant women who do take maternity leave are often eligible to go onto California’s state insurance for disabilities while they are out of the office, since illnesses related to pregnancies are considered as a disability under state law.

There are a variety of resources out there for women who want to learn more about disability insurance payments and the corresponding laws as they pertain to disability insurance.

In general, maternity leave in California is governed under the California Family Rights Act and the Family Medical Leave Act. A few requirements have to be met in order to fall under the different laws.

Employees must work for a boss who has at least 50 workers within a 75- mile radius. Employees must also have been working for at least one year with the employer and must have at least 1,250 logged work hours in the past year.

If all of these stipulations are met, the employee may take up to 12 weeks of maternity leave in a year-long period. The idea behind this length of time is to provide an opportunity for a mom to bond with their child. In addition to maternity leave, employees also have a right to take time off for disabilities that are related to the pregnancy. Employers must give time off to pregnant employees if they are disabled by a pregnancy or childbirth, or have any medical condition related to pregnancy and childbirth.

This could include a loss of a child, postpartum depression, prenatal care, postnatal care, or gestational diabetes, along with a wide swath of other illnesses and conditions.

Laws in California give a right for up to four months of maternity leave based off of a disability due to childbirth or a pregnancy. This is a separate figure than taking time off for maternity leave for the purposes of bonding.

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As a result, women in California could have up to seven months of total maternity leave (depending on the circumstances of the disability associated with the pregnancy and childbirth). Maternity leave for bonding time can be taken after the leave related to pregnancy and childbirth disability.

California law allows for intermittent leave, where maternity leave can be broken up into different time periods and not taken all at once. Employers

are required to give reasonable accommodations for employees who are pregnant if a doctor has mandated it, but a doctor’s note will be required by bosses before they will make a decision.

Employers in the state are not allowed to wrongfully terminate employees due to pregnancy, and there are laws on the books against harassment that is based on pregnancy.

Do you have a question about maternity leave? Click here to contact Von Esch Law today!

Courtesy of Cuselleration