Employment Law Alert: New California Pregnancy Disability Rights Notice

As we discussed in our 2016 Employment Law Update seminar series, a new California pregnancy disability rights notice goes into effect today, April 1, 2016. You may access the new form here: Your Rights and Obligations as a Pregnant Employee.

California regulations require employers to post the notice conspicuously in the workplace, and to give a copy of the notice to employees “as soon as practicable after the employee tells the employer of her pregnancy or sooner if the employee inquires about reasonable accommodation, transfer, or pregnancy disability leaves.” Every employer should review the content of the notice carefully to ensure that it is consistent with the employer’s policy. If the notice is not accurate because the employer’s policy is more generous, then the employer should revise the notice with assistance of legal counsel.

Please note that the above notice only satisfies one of multiple notice requirements for pregnant employees. Additional notice requirements can apply under other applicable laws (including, but not limited to, the federal Family & Medical Leave Act, the California Family Rights Act, California Paid Family Leave law, and California State Disability Insurance law). When an employer learns that an employee may need leave, leave laws generally require the employer to provide prompt and detailed notice of the employee’s rights and responsibilities. To ensure advance preparedness to handle leave requests, we recommend that employers work with counsel to set up leave letter templates designed to incorporate and satisfy all applicable notice requirements for each type of legally protected leave of absence.