Is my company discriminating against pregnant women? (CA, USA)
employment discrimination attorney California Aug 25, 2026
Location: California, USA Hi all, in the state of California, you are considered disabled at 36 weeks of pregnancy. I had an approved disability claim with the state of California with paperwork from my doctor stating my disabling condition was pregnancy. I filed paperwork with my work for a pregnancy disability claim and twice they denied my short term disability leave stating “being 36 weeks pregnant is not sufficient information. your doctor must provide specific information as to why you cannot work”. To get the documentation exactly how they wanted I would need to schedule an appointment and tell my doctor what to write on the form which didn’t seem right to me either. Going back and forth and going to my doctor was frankly exhausting especially when the baby was expected any day at that point so I told them to forget it and I would take unpaid pregnancy leave. I find it seriously legally questionable that the state of California could find me disabled but my work (or rather the 3rd party representing my work) said I was not disabled and refused my claim. I spoke to other women and they experienced the same. They were not paid disability until the baby was born. Are pregnant women being denied disability illegally? or is this something my work is able to do? I live and work in California, the other women I asked live and work in California. Thank you in advance.
