FMLA News
Pier 1 Imports Faces California Labor Lawsuit
The lawsuit (case number 1-14-CV-263883) was filed by Kimberly Erin Caselman, who alleges she was denied reasonable accommodations for her pregnancy. Caselman further alleges she was placed on involuntary leave due to her pregnancy. According to the Legal Aid Society, Employment Law Center (4/16/14), Caselman informed her employer in November 2013 that her doctor required her to lift no more than 15 pounds during her pregnancy. She was also told she should not climb ladders during the pregnancy.
Pier 1 reportedly has a “light duty” policy during which women who have pregnancy-related conditions are put on light duty for up to eight weeks. When those eight weeks are up, they are then placed on unpaid pregnancy leave if continued accommodations are necessary.
Caselman was placed on eight-week light duty, which ended on January 16, 2014. She was then put on unpaid pregnancy leave, which is set to expire in May, before her July due date. In other words, according to the lawsuit, Caselman is expected back at work from her maternity leave before she has her baby.
According to Legal Aid Society, Caselman was able to fulfill her job requirements while on light duty, but because the eight weeks of light duty expired, was forced into unpaid maternity while still able to work. This, attorneys argue, is a violation of labor laws requiring employers to make reasonable accommodation for pregnant women.
Under California Law, pregnant employees cannot be forced into involuntary leave. Furthermore, employers must make reasonable accommodation for pregnant women. Not all states have these requirements, which is why a federal bill, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, to extend such protections across the US, is pending. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would address loopholes that have allowed employers to fire pregnant women, rather than make reasonable accommodations for them. Because of those loopholes, the courts have sided with employers.
For example, according to the National Women’s Law Center Fact Sheet on Pregnant Workers (online at nwlc.org), some courts have required women making a pregnancy discrimination claim to prove that a non-pregnant employee with nearly identical symptoms as her was treated better by the employer.
For now, however, pregnant employees in California are offered protections under the law and can file a lawsuit if employers fail to make reasonable accommodation for their pregnancy and/or force their pregnant employee into unpaid leave. Caselman’s lawsuit seeks to represent female employees who are or have been forced to take unpaid leave from their employment after eight weeks of light duty.
Pregnancy Discrimination Still Violates California Labor Law
Ashley returned to work from maternity leave to find that she had been demoted. “I worked at this company for six years, the first four of which I was part time,” says Ashley. “It was a struggle to get full-time status, but with it came job security and benefits so I was thrilled to be in this position, especially with my third child on the way.” Ashley has been “reclassified” back to part time, which means that she loses her medical benefits and of course, less hours. “My full-time job has been filled by someone who barely has any training, but she is young and doesn’t have any kids,” says Ashley. “I am certain that the company looks at me as a liability now that I had my third child and this is so wrong.”
If Ashley is right in assuming she lost her full-time position because she was discriminated against for being a mother, she should probably talk to an employment attorney.
It gets worse.
On the very last day Suzanne worked before taking maternity leave, she was fired! “I was told by HR that I was approved for Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) for 12 weeks but I won’t be eligible for short-term disability benefits,” says Suzanne, who worked at this company for more than 12 months and therefore qualifies for FMLA. “And on top of that, I want to file a California wrongful termination claim against my employer.”
Suzanne has called an attorney who specializes in Employment Law. Even in a right to work state, if there is any appearance of discrimination (i.e., firing you without cause just before you go on maternity leave and therefore NOT having to pay you for sick leave or vacation time), you may be protected under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
Angela was laid off two weeks before her son was born. “My boss told me that they had to downsize but I found out from a co-worker that just a week after I was terminated that a young man took my place,” she says. “Although he didn’t come right out and say so, I think my former employer considers women with children as liabilities. And that is infuriating.”
Fortunately for these women, California has the strongest parental leave programs and protections in the US. The California “at will” employment policy does not allow employee termination for time off for family leave or maternity leave. As well, Suzanne, Angela and Ashley are pro-active: they are all taking steps to file a California labor lawsuit against their employer.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act explicitly prohibits employers from harassing, demoting, terminating or otherwise discriminating against any employee for becoming pregnant, or for requesting or taking pregnancy leave. The Act applies to all employers that regularly employed five or more full-time employees in the preceding year.
The California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (“PDLL”) is part of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and requires employers who employ 5 or more employees to provide employees who are disabled by their pregnancy a reasonable period of leave, not to exceed four months. An employee who is disabled by her pregnancy and entitled to PDLL leave may take the leave all at once or in increments. An employer is not required to pay wages to an employee taking PDLL leave, unless it has a policy of continuing the payment of wages for other types of temporary disability leaves.
California Labor Law on Family Leave Receives High Marks in Study
The study was conducted by Eileen Applebaum, senior economist at the Center for Economic Policy and Research in Washington, and Ruth Milkman, a professor of sociology at UCLA and City University of New York.
The researchers said that as a result of the new law, workers taking family leave are enjoying their jobs more.
"All the fears that this program would be disruptive to business were not well founded," Milkman said.
Implemented in 2004, the Paid Family Leave Act provides eligible employees with up to 55 percent of their typical earnings for up to six weeks, according to the news provider. According to the Employment Development Department, 167,523 people in California took time off for "bonding" with their child during the last fiscal year. Additionally, 23,220 workers took some time off to care for family members who were ill, the news source said.
The workers, on average, received $488 per week.
According to the Employment Development Department's Web site, employees who are covered by State Disability Insurance are also covered by Paid Family Leave insurance.
Fired on Medical Leave—California Labor Law Violation?
"I was offered a position as outside sales and territory manager with this company in 2005 and everything was great. I was making $70,000 per year until I got sick," says Stan, who also said he worked more than a year for the company before he took sick leave. "I was off work just a few weeks when my boss phoned and said, 'Your service is no longer needed, and I have to let you go.' I figured they had reviewed my doctor's medical certification of my disability and didn't like the bi-polar diagnosis."
In California and nationwide, it's illegal for an employer to terminate an employee for taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). As well, the California Family Rights Act was established to ensure secure leave rights for the employee's serious health condition. It would seem that Stan's employer has violated the California labor code, but state and federal laws differ, and they are complicated.
"I called the California labor board when I was terminated and found out that my employer had lied," says Stan. "He said that I didn't report back to work when my medical leave ended, but he neglected to say that I was still on medical leave when I was terminated. He also lied to the unemployment office so it took me a long time to sort that out. Finally I was able to collect unemployment benefits, but here is the weird thing: My boss continued to pay my medical premiums into 2008 - for more than a year after I was fired and I have no idea why…"
Perhaps Stan's boss had a reason for paying his premiums or maybe it was simply an oversight; whatever the reasoning, an experienced labor law attorney will be able to advise Stan - but Stan should have contacted an attorney sooner as the statute of limitations may apply.
If you think that your employer has violated California medical leave laws, you can file a complaint with the federal Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division within two years of the violation or file a lawsuit in federal court. In California, however, you must file a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) within one year of the violation, in order to be able to file a lawsuit under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), in addition to the FMLA.
Contrary to what a lot of people believe, an employer in California is not legally required to provide paid vacation or sick leave to their employees. However, employees have a legal right to take some paid time off but it's paid out of the state's temporary disability program, which is funded entirely by mandatory withholdings from employees' paychecks.
This is where it gets complicated: an employer can terminate you while out on medical leave. Even though FMLA and its California counterpart, the CFRA, protects employees from being terminated because they take a medical leave, it does not totally prohibit termination of an employee while they are on a medical leave. According to one interpretation of the California labor law, what really matters is why you were terminated while out on a medical leave, not just that you happened to be out on a medical leave when you were terminated.
Fortunately, if you have to take medical leave, your job is generally protected by federal and California employment laws. These laws also prohibit employers from terminating or otherwise punishing employees who take protected medical or family leave. If you think you have been illegally terminated while on medical leave, you should speak with a California labor lawyer.
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