Can You Be Fired for Missing Work Because of Pregnancy in California?

California Leave Laws Cover Hours, Days, or Months

Pregnancy Disability Leave, or PDL, comes from Government Code section 12945. It gives you up to four months of job-protected leave per pregnancy.

It applies at any employer with five or more employees. You qualify from your first day, whether you work full time or part time.

Severe morning sickness, prenatal care, and bed rest all count when your provider supports the need. You can take PDL all at once or intermittently, which means a few hours or days at a time. Intermittent leave and a reduced schedule both work when your provider says you need them. So a prenatal visit can come out of PDL in hours rather than days.

During the leave, your employer must keep your group health coverage on the same terms. Our post on pregnancy leave in California explains how PDL works with baby bonding leave.

In addition, most California employees can use at least 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave each year. Labor Code section 246.5 lets you use it for preventive care, such as a prenatal visit. You can also use it for pregnancy sickness.

You decide how much leave to use at a time. Your employer can set a minimum, but it cannot exceed two hours.

Your employer also cannot make you find your own replacement before you use paid sick leave. The same section bars discipline for using the leave. So an employer that fired you for missing work due to pregnancy sickness may have broken that rule.

In fact, the California Labor Commissioner says a protected sick day cannot earn you an attendance point. Our guide to California sick leave law explains how those hours build up.

Federal Law Adds Protection at Larger Employers

The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) covers employers with 15 or more employees. It requires reasonable accommodations, meaning practical changes at work, for pregnancy-related limits. Its examples include a later start time, telework, and leave for health care visits.

The EEOC, which enforces the law, counts morning sickness as a limit even when it comes and goes. Your employer also cannot push you onto leave when another change would let you keep working.

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) adds another layer for employees who qualify. Its rules cover prenatal care and days when pregnancy keeps you home, even without a doctor visit.

Some employers claim they are too small for federal law. Even so, California’s five-employee rule still protects you. Our comparison of CFRA vs FMLA explains who qualifies for each law.

Attendance Points and No-Fault Policies

Many retail, warehouse, and health care employers use no-fault attendance policies. Under these systems, every absence earns a point. Once you reach a set number of points, you lose your job. Those policies stay legal only until they count an absence the law protects.

A point for a prenatal visit breaks the law, even if the policy allows it. The same goes for a write-up after three sick mornings. Firing you over missed work caused by pregnancy crosses the same line. Turning down a pregnancy accommodation your provider supports can also break the law.

When the Stated Reason Is Not the Real Reason

Lawyers call this kind of cover story pretext. It means a stated reason that hides the real one.

One common sign is a firing that comes a few weeks after you share your news. Another is a job abandonment letter that arrives during bed rest your employer already approved. A manager who praised you in the spring and now documents every late minute fits the pattern too.

Timing and a sudden change in treatment can show the real reason. So can coworkers who missed more days without any discipline. Our guide on how to prove discrimination at work also explains which evidence carries the most weight. If the firing came soon after your announcement, our post on being fired for being pregnant goes deeper.