Do I have to continue to accommodate a pregnant employee who continues to be late or absent when all their paid sick leave and vacation has been used?

California is very protective of pregnant employees who need time off work due to prenatal medical care or illness connected with pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition.

California's pregnancy disability leave (PDL) law requires an employer of five or more employees to provide time off work if the pregnancy or related medical condition requires such an accommodation.

Having said that, it is important to determine whether being late to work and missing work is pregnancy-related or whether the employee has been missing work due to other personal reasons.

In California, PDL applies to all employees, including new employees, and if an employee is not released to return to work at the end of four months and their doctor continues their disability, then the employer is required to engage in an interactive, good faith discussion with the employee about what further accommodations are needed and may be required to provide additional time as a reasonable accommodation under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

If the reason the employee has been late or absent from work is due to sickness related to pregnancy or a related medical condition, they should be provided with unpaid time off work even though they have no available paid time.

If, on the other hand, the employee has other personal reasons for either being late or absent from work, then the employer may have the right to discipline or terminate the employee.

An employer needs to be very cautious, however, when disciplining or terminating a pregnant employee. Because these are difficult situations to handle, it is best to get legal advice before disciplining or terminating a pregnant employee.

Read more about Providing Reasonable Accommodation and Transfer in the HR Library.