You announced your pregnancy and everything changed. Your manager stopped including you in important meetings. Your hours were cut. You were told that pregnant women "can't handle this job" or that you should "look for something easier." Or you were simply terminated — the same week you shared the news.
That is called pregnancy discrimination. And in California, it is completely illegal.
My name is Arlo Uriarte. I am an employment attorney at Liberation Law Group and I have spent over 30 years filing pregnancy discrimination cases on behalf of workers in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and throughout Northern California. We are a plaintiff's firm — we file cases, we fight for workers, and we do not defend employers. Our office is at 2760 Mission Street in the Mission District, three minutes from 24th Street BART. We speak Spanish, and we know exactly how to build a case that wins when an employer violates a pregnant worker's rights.
If you are being discriminated against because of your pregnancy, call today for a free consultation in Spanish or English. No cost, no obligation, regardless of immigration status.
What Is Pregnancy Discrimination?
Pregnancy discrimination occurs when an employer treats you differently, unfairly, or adversely because you are pregnant, because you were pregnant, or even because you plan to become pregnant. California law protects all three scenarios.
The most common examples we see in San Francisco:
- Terminated when you announce your pregnancy or shortly afterward
- Hours reduced or shifted to worse schedules without a legitimate reason
- Denied a promotion you deserved
- Assigned more difficult or dangerous tasks after the announcement
- Supervisors or coworkers make offensive comments about your body or capabilities
- Pressured to resign
- Not given time for prenatal medical appointments
- Returned to a lower position after maternity leave
- Excluded from important meetings, projects, or decisions after the announcement
Learn about all types of employment discrimination protected under California's FEHA.
30+ years filing pregnancy discrimination cases in San Francisco and the Bay Area. We represent employees — never employers. No fee unless we win.
1-888-442-2642 or request your free case evaluation hereThe Laws That Protect You — California Leads the Nation
California has the strongest pregnancy protections in the country — four laws that work together to protect pregnant workers at every stage:
The single most important distinction: California's PDL covers employers with 5 or more employees while the federal PDA requires 15. In San Francisco, nearly every employer is covered under California's stronger law.
Your Specific Rights as a Pregnant Worker in San Francisco
Pregnancy Discrimination in San Francisco — What We See by Industry
Restaurants and Retail — Mission District, Castro, Union Square
The restaurant industry and retail sector have among the highest rates of pregnancy discrimination we see in San Francisco. Managers at restaurants on 24th Street in the Mission District and at shops around Union Square frequently reduce hours or terminate pregnant workers claiming they "can't do the physical work." That is illegal discrimination — the law requires exploring reasonable accommodations before any adverse action.
Technology and Startups — SoMa and South Bay
Tech companies in the SoMa district near the Moscone Center and campuses in the South Bay discriminate in subtler but equally illegal ways. They exclude pregnant workers from strategy meetings, assign less visible projects, remove them from business travel, or say they "no longer fit the company culture." Employment attorneys have successfully pursued cases against startups and established tech companies throughout San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
Finance and Professional Services — Financial District
In the investment firms, banks, and professional services companies of the Financial District near the Embarcadero, pregnancy discrimination frequently takes the form of denying a promised promotion, or removing a pregnant worker from high-profile opportunities. The argument is usually that she "won't be available" — which is not a legal reason.
Healthcare — UCSF, SF General, Clinics
Healthcare institutions discriminate against their own pregnant employees with a regularity that consistently surprises San Francisco juries. Pregnant nurses and technicians are transferred to less desirable shifts or lower-responsibility positions under the pretext of "safety concerns" — without exploring the reasonable accommodations the law requires.
Construction and Trades — Mission Bay, Bayview-Hunters Point
At construction sites near Chase Center in Mission Bay and in Bayview-Hunters Point, pregnant workers are frequently terminated or pressured to resign when the employer learns of the pregnancy — rather than exploring the reasonable accommodations the law requires.
Real Cases in San Francisco & the Bay Area
These are real cases that have occurred in the Bay Area. If your situation is similar, call Arlo Uriarte for a free evaluation.
María worked as a server at a popular restaurant on 24th Street. When she announced her pregnancy, the manager told her "pregnant women can't carry heavy trays" and terminated her that same day — without exploring any alternative accommodation. María recovered $85,000 in lost wages and emotional distress damages.
Ana was a project manager at a SoMa startup. After announcing her pregnancy she was excluded from strategy meetings and assigned lower-visibility projects. When she returned from maternity leave she was demoted to a lesser position with lower pay. The worker recovered $150,000 plus reinstatement to her original position with full back pay.
Carmen's supervisor made constant comments — "mothers can't be good employees," "how are you going to handle the work with a baby?" He also discriminated by scheduling her in ways that made it impossible to attend prenatal appointments. The case resolved for $120,000 before trial.
Martha Martinez, a temporary packing employee, was fired during her pregnancy. Liberation Law Group took the case to trial at Napa County Superior Court at 825 Brown Street. After four days of deliberation, the jury found Rancho Gordo liable for pregnancy discrimination and retaliation, awarding $252,000. Covered by the San Francisco Chronicle, Eater SF, and SFGate.
* These cases are presented for informational purposes. Past outcomes do not guarantee future results. Each case is unique.
Arlo Uriarte — Employment Attorney — evaluates your case for free and tells you honestly what your options are.
1-888-442-2642 or request your free case evaluationThe Most Common Pretext — "Performance Issues"
The pattern we see most often: a worker has years of positive performance reviews. She announces her pregnancy. And suddenly she has "performance problems" that never existed before. The company terminates her for "underperformance" — but the timing tells the real story.
This is called pretext — an invented reason to conceal the real discriminatory motive. Finding and exposing that pretext is exactly what we do. The signals we look for:
- Positive performance evaluations for months or years — suddenly negative after announcing the pregnancy
- Suspicious timing — the termination or change in treatment occurred within days or weeks of the announcement
- Discriminatory comments that preceded the negative documentation
- Other pregnant employees who were treated similarly
- The employer did not follow its own progressive discipline procedures before terminating
San Francisco and Bay Area juries understand exactly what it means when an employee has four years of excellent evaluations and suddenly has "performance problems" two weeks after announcing her pregnancy.
Intersectional Discrimination — More Common Than People Realize
Pregnancy discrimination frequently occurs alongside other types of discrimination, creating stronger cases with higher available damages:
Pregnancy + Gender Discrimination
If the company has a broader pattern of discriminating against all female employees, not just pregnant ones, that significantly strengthens the case. Many employers who discriminate during pregnancy also discriminate based on gender more broadly.
Pregnancy + Medical Condition or Disability
If you have pregnancy complications — preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, doctor-ordered bed rest — those conditions may qualify as a medical condition or disability under FEHA and ADA, providing additional independent protections separate from the pregnancy itself.
Pregnancy + Sexual Harassment
Inappropriate sexual comments about a pregnant worker's body constitute sexual harassment in addition to pregnancy discrimination — two independent causes of action with two separate sets of available damages.
Learn more about gender discrimination and how it intersects with pregnancy discrimination.
What You Can Recover
Workers who win pregnancy discrimination cases in San Francisco can recover:
- Back pay — everything you would have earned from the discriminatory act through case resolution, including future raises and bonuses
- Lost benefits — health insurance, retirement contributions, paid leave
- Unlimited emotional distress damages — FEHA places no statutory cap on these amounts
- Punitive damages — to punish employers for malicious conduct
- Reinstatement with full back pay — in many cases we recover the job
- Attorney fees paid by the employer — in most successful employment cases
In successful Bay Area cases we have seen recoveries from $85,000 to a $252,000 jury verdict. Cases that combine pregnancy discrimination with retaliation or gender discrimination frequently result in higher total damages.
What to Do Immediately
Write in a private journal at home — with exact dates — every discriminatory incident: comments, schedule changes, exclusions from meetings, and any change in treatment since announcing your pregnancy. Names of witnesses are very important.
If you have positive evaluations from before the announcement, those are powerful evidence that the change in treatment is tied to your pregnancy — not your work. Download them to a personal device now, before you lose system access.
Forward to your personal email any messages from the employer related to your pregnancy, leave, medical appointments, or changes in responsibilities. Save everything before losing access to company systems.
Before going to HR, speak with an attorney. The strategy of when and how to file an internal complaint matters. A poorly handled HR conversation can weaken your case. Our consultation is completely free. Call 1-888-442-2642.
Pregnancy discrimination frequently escalates. Acting early preserves evidence and gives us more legal options. Call 1-888-442-2642 — available 24/7 in Spanish and English.
What Our Clients Say
"The manager told me pregnant women can't carry trays and fired me that day. Arlo Uriarte explained it was illegal and we won $85,000. For my family, that money changed everything at one of the hardest moments of our lives."
— María, server, Mission District, San Francisco (name protected by confidentiality)
"After announcing my pregnancy I was excluded from everything. When I came back from maternity leave I had been demoted. Liberation Law Group recovered $150,000 and my original position. No woman should go through that alone."
— Ana, project manager, tech company, SoMa (name protected)
Where We Serve
Our office is at 2760 Mission Street, Second Floor in the Mission District — three minutes from 24th Street Mission BART, near Dolores Park. We handle cases throughout San Francisco (Mission, SoMa, Financial District, North Beach, Castro, Union Square, Bayview, Excelsior), Oakland (especially Fruitvale — 53.8% Hispanic), Hayward (40.7% Latino), San Jose, Napa County (where we won the Rancho Gordo jury verdict at Napa County Superior Court, 825 Brown Street), Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, Marin County, Vallejo, San Mateo County, and all of Northern California.
Liberation Law Group — Workers' Rights Advocates · Fighting for Employees Since 2007 · Free Consultation in Spanish or English · No Fee Unless We Win.
1-888-442-2642 or request your free consultation onlineFrequently Asked Questions About Pregnancy Discrimination in California
Can I be fired for being pregnant in California?
No — it is completely illegal under multiple California and federal laws. California's Pregnancy Disability Leave law (PDL), FEHA, and the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) explicitly prohibit terminating an employee because she is pregnant. The protection also extends to women who were recently pregnant and to pregnancy-related medical conditions.
If you were terminated during or shortly after announcing your pregnancy, that timing is powerful evidence of discrimination. You have the right to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination and recover lost wages, emotional distress damages, and potentially your job back. Call 1-888-442-2642 for a free evaluation of your specific situation.
How much maternity leave am I entitled to in California?
California offers the most generous maternity leave protections in the country. Under California's PDL, you are entitled to up to 4 months of leave for pregnancy-related disability — partially paid through California's State Disability Insurance (SDI). Under CFRA, you are entitled to an additional 12 weeks of baby-bonding leave after PDL.
Combined, many California workers can take up to 7 months of total protected leave. Your employer must reinstate you to the same position or a comparable one with the same pay, benefits, and conditions when you return. Call 1-888-442-2642 to understand exactly what leave you are entitled to in your situation.
Must I return to the same position after maternity leave?
Yes — California law is clear on this point. Your employer is legally required to reinstate you to the same position you held before your leave, or to a genuinely comparable position with the same pay, benefits, schedule, and working conditions. "Comparable" does not mean "inferior" — it means substantially equivalent in all relevant dimensions.
If you return and are given a position with less responsibility, lower pay, a worse schedule, or fewer advancement opportunities — even if the title sounds similar — that can be pregnancy discrimination. It is one of the most frequent patterns we see: an employee leaves on leave with position X and returns to a diminished version of position X. Call 1-888-442-2642 if this happened to you.
Can my employer reduce my hours or change my shift because of my pregnancy?
No. Reducing your hours, moving you to a worse shift, or assigning you to a less desirable work area specifically because you are pregnant is illegal discrimination under FEHA and PDL. Your employer is required to treat you the same as other employees with similar work capabilities.
The only exception is if the change is a reasonable accommodation you yourself requested to better manage your pregnancy — which is very different from a change imposed by the employer without your request. If your employer changed your schedule or hours after learning of your pregnancy without you asking for it, call 1-888-442-2642.
How long do I have to sue for pregnancy discrimination in California?
Under California's FEHA, you have 3 years from the most recent discriminatory act to file a lawsuit in court. In San Francisco, that is San Francisco Superior Court at 400 McAllister Street near Civic Center BART. In Napa, Napa County Superior Court at 825 Brown Street. For the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), 1 year. For the EEOC under the federal PDA, 300 days.
Even with the three-year window, acting early produces better results. The connection between your pregnancy announcement and the change in your treatment is clearest when the case is recent. Call 1-888-442-2642 — the consultation is free.
Can my employer deny me a promotion because I am pregnant?
No — denying a promotion because of pregnancy is direct discrimination and one of the clearest violations to establish before a jury. If you qualified for the promotion before your pregnancy, and the company gave it to someone else after learning you were pregnant, the question a jury will ask is obvious: what changed? The answer — your pregnancy — is the case.
This pattern is especially common in Financial District firms and SoMa startups, where employers assume a pregnant woman "won't be able to commit" to a new role. That assumption is illegal. Call 1-888-442-2642 for a free evaluation of your situation.
Can my employer force me to work in dangerous conditions while pregnant?
No. If your job involves exposure to hazardous chemicals, heavy lifting, extreme temperatures, radiation, or other conditions that can harm your pregnancy, your employer is required to offer reasonable accommodations — including temporary reassignment to different work or modification of your duties. Refusing to explore alternatives is discrimination.
This also applies to jobs that require prolonged standing when your physician has recommended restrictions. If your doctor has placed you on work restrictions and your employer is ignoring them, call 1-888-442-2642 immediately.
Am I protected if I work for a small company in San Francisco?
Almost certainly yes. California's PDL covers employers with 5 or more employees — significantly broader than the federal PDA which requires 15 employees. FEHA also applies to employers with 5 or more employees. In San Francisco, the vast majority of businesses have 5 or more employees, meaning nearly every worker in the city has the protection of California's stronger pregnancy discrimination laws.
Even if you work for a very small employer with fewer than 5 employees — uncommon in San Francisco but possible — there may be other applicable protections. Call 1-888-442-2642 to confirm exactly which protections apply to your specific employer.
Related pages: Workplace Discrimination · Gender Discrimination · Medical Condition Discrimination · Workplace Retaliation · Wrongful Termination · Sexual Harassment
