Worrying my employee for future pregnancy
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Worrying my employee for future pregnancy
I am running a small business which has less than 15 employees. One of my employees wanted to hire a woman who is early 20’s she is even trying to finish her school so I was not worried about this pregnancy issue up until now I found out that she is living with her boyfriend. Our work is pretty intense requiring lots of physical work. She is doing pretty OK now but I am worried if she gets pregnant soon then how I can deal with her working less. I know it is illegal to discriminate pregnant women but I am running a small business that I can’t afford her medical bills or leaves and her being exposure to danger of doing too much physical work here. How can I work this around with this employee to prevent any loss of my business?
Asked on May 23, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
There is no safe way to not hire a pregnant woman due to her pregnancy, if she tells you that she can (e.g. physically) do the job (if she lacks qualifications, degrees, or experience the job requires, or says upfront that she can't do the job, that is a different story--you can refuse to hire her for any non-pregnancy-related reason).
Note that you do NOT have to give her any leave for pregnancy or health reasons unless:
1) She is eligible for FMLA leave--which she will not be, because your business is too small (does not have at least 50 employees) to be covered by the Family & Medical Leave Act.
2) She has and uses sufficient paid time off (PTO) to cover her absence.
3) She qualifies for up to four months of unpaid time off under your state's pregnancy disability leave (PDL) law, which means that there is some medical reason (e.g. needs bed rest or medical care; cannot safely work) for the leave--there is no PDL just to have time off to "bond" with a newborn child or as general maternity leave, and you *can* request medical certification (e.g. something from a doctor) proving that she has a medical need for the leave.
So it may be the case that her ability to take leave is limited, unless she qualifies for the medically related pregnancy disability leave and can prove her qualification for it with something from a doctor. If she takes misses work when she doesn't have PDL leave or PTO for it, you can terminate her for absenteeism; and since PDL is unpaid leave, if she gets it, you can use the wages you would have paid her for a temp to cover her job until she returns (not ideal, I know, but it does help).
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