Pregnancy Disability Leave Act (PDL) is part of the California FEHA (Fair Employment and Housing Act) – Gov. Code section 12945. It requires employers to provide up to four months of leave to employees disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. Employers who provide more than four months of leave for other kinds of temporary, non-industrial disabilities must provide the leave amounts to women who are eligible for PDL.
A woman is considered disabled by pregnancy if, in the opinion of her health care provider, she is unable because of her pregnancy to perform any one or more of the essential job functions of her job or to perform any of these functions without undue risk to herself, to her pregnancy’s successful completion, or to others. One of the common duties that may put a pregnancy woman at risk is bending and/or lifting heavy objects. For instance, a pregnant employee who works as a file clerk may be disabled by her pregnancy and unable to perform her job because of her difficulty or inability to bend down and lift heavy filing boxes, if she is generally expected to do so.
An employee also may be considered disabled by pregnancy if, in the opinion of her doctor, she is suffering from severe morning sickness or needs to take time off for prenatal or postnatal care, bed rest, gestational diabetes, pregnancy induced hypertension, preeclampsia, post-partum depression, childbirth, loss or end of pregnancy, or recovery from childbirth.
PDL runs concurrently with FMLA leave, but it does not run concurrently with CFRA leave, and the right to pregnancy disability leave is separate and distinct from the right to CFRA leave. CFRA provides for what’s known as “baby bonding” leave, which is also available for the placement of a child in connection with the adoption or foster care of the child by the employee. This means that once PDL leave expires, an employee can be eligible for additional CFRA leave for any qualifying reason under the CFRA law.
An employer may be required to provide reasonable accommodations by extending leave, even after PDL is exhausted. Thus, if an employee who returned to work after exhausting her PDL leave has certain limitations, this may trigger the employer’s further duty to initiate the interactive process to determine whether further accommodations are needed.