Maternity Leave: California fills in the Gaps for Pregnant Employees
In 2012 the bills A.B. 592 and S.B. 299, signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown, attempted to fill coverage and enforcement gaps between the state and federal leave laws. SB 299 and AB 592, as well as SB 222 and AB 210, propose that pregnant employees will maintain their insurance benefits while on pregnancy-related leaves. These new laws will have a significant financial impact on employers big and small, but will also give pregnant employees a little piece of mind.
The federal Family Medical Leave Act only required the same level insurance coverage to pregnant employees as they had previous to going out on leave. But it only applied to employees who were employed at a company with 50+ employees and if they had worked there over 1 year, or more than 1,250 hours. Often pregnant employees working for companies with less than 50 people were unprotected
The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) allows leave for bonding with an employee’s newborn, newly-adopted or foster child. But again this only applies to a company of 50 or more employees. However, pregnancy itself is not a condition covered under CFRA. Pregnancy and related medical complications are covered under the PDL law.
California Pregnancy Disability Leave, (PDL); under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, employers with 5 or more employees must give up to 4 months of unpaid disability leave to women facing time off work because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related illness. Prior to Jan. 1, 2012, employers with less than 50 employees had the right to discontinue health insurance or other benefits if this is their policy for disability leave.
A.B. 592 and S.B. 299 will change how medical insurance coverage will be maintained during PDL. Not only must the employer with 5 or more employees maintain medical insurance for their employees while out on leave, but California Insurance Code mandates that all individual health insurance policies must provide coverage for maternity services for all insured individuals covered under the policy. Under existing law, if a health insurer provides maternity coverage, it may not restrict inpatient hospital benefits. The change in law, however, actually mandates that the maternity coverage be provided.
If you are going out on maternity leave and your employer has put restrictions on your time off or has not given you the option of selecting maternity medical coverage, it is recommended that you contact a San Francisco employment law attorney to fully understand your rights and options. Many labor law attorneys offer free or low cost preliminary consultations, and in certain cases may represent you on a contingency fee basis.
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