Equal Rights Advocates has heard from hundreds of pregnant women and new mothers in California whose workplace rights are continuously violated. Most of these women were not aware of their right to a workplace accommodation or job protected leave [link to our informational brochure on pregnancy and family leave] until after their rights had expired. Many lost their jobs or were forced to sacrifice their health to keep their jobs. California employers are shirking their legal obligation to provide pregnant employees with notice of their rights to accommodation and leave. How do we reach these women so they can assert their right to remain healthy and employed early on in the process, before they suffer the consequences?

ERA has found a solution. Last year, ERA began an innovative project to provide information about workplace rights to pregnant workers through their health care providers. ERA had identified health care providers as an important and unique resource of legal information to pregnant workers because their relationship typically begins very early in the pregnancy, and continues throughout. Health care providers thus can help pregnant women plan for and obtain workplace accommodations and leaves early on. Further, ERA has discovered that health care providers themselves are not aware of their pregnant patients’ workplace rights. Armed with legal information, health care providers can act as advocates for the health of their patients when requesting accommodations and leaves.

In 2012, ERA teamed up with the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to provide know-your-rights information to doctors and their patients. This year, ERA began teaming up with the Bay Area Medical community and UC Hastings [link to Hillary’s blog article] to provide trainings and informational material to pregnant women and their health care providers.

ERA is also working with the medical community to advocate for federal legislation that would increase protections for pregnant workers. For more information on the federal law, click here.

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