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- Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- - SE HABLA ESPAÑOL
Mercer Legal Group represents Los Angeles and California employees in pregnancy discrimination claims, accommodation denials, leave retaliation, and terminations connected to pregnancy or childbirth. California protects more than federal law does, and the deadlines start running early.
Mercer Legal Group reviews employment law claims carefully, explains available options, and pursues appropriate remedies when the facts and law support them. Every case is different, and no attorney can guarantee a specific result.
Where the facts support a pregnancy discrimination claim, available remedies may include:
Every case is different, and no attorney can guarantee a specific outcome.
Our California pregnancy discrimination attorneys read the facts, identify which leave and accommodation laws apply, and pursue available remedies when the facts support them. From the first call you talk to a senior attorney. Cases are handled on a contingency-fee basis.
Pregnancy cases often turn on what changed at work after the employee disclosed. Below are the questions clients ask us most.
The timing is strong evidence but not the whole case. California courts look at the timing along with the pattern, the employer’s stated reason, comparator treatment, and what the employer did or didn’t do in response to the pregnancy. Most Los Angeles pregnancy cases come down to a clear before-and-after pattern that the employer cannot explain on the documented record.
The biggest differences are PDL (up to four months of pregnancy-related disability leave separate from CFRA) and the lower threshold for what counts as a pregnancy-related medical condition. California employees in Los Angeles and statewide often have rights that federal law alone would not provide. FEHA also covers smaller employers than Title VII does.
It depends on the facts. A genuine California restructuring that happens to include a pregnant employee can be lawful. A “restructuring” that targets the pregnant employee — or that follows disclosure by days or weeks — usually does not survive close review under FEHA. Los Angeles courts look at who was actually retained vs. let go and whether the timing matches the disclosure.
Usually no. CFRA, FMLA, and PDL all generally require California employers to restore the employee to the same or an equivalent position. Changes to pay, schedule, title, or responsibilities — common in Los Angeles when teams reorganize during leave — can support a retaliation claim.
Almost never. California’s accommodation duty under FEHA is broad and requires the employer to engage in an interactive conversation about what would work. A flat refusal is generally not a defense by itself. California courts have repeatedly rejected this argument from Los Angeles employers when no real conversation was documented.
If you were demoted, denied accommodation, pushed onto leave, or fired after disclosing a pregnancy or returning from maternity leave, contact Mercer Legal Group for a free, confidential case review. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.
