Current Advocacy

ERA is promoting legislation to support working families and empower workers to assert their right to provide crucial care for themselves or family members without losing their jobs or threatening the financial stability that their families need.

Promoting Policies That Serve Working Families

• ERA is leading charge for passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) to ensure the accommodation of pregnant workers. Learn more.
• ERA scored a major victory in the California legislature in 2011 with the passage of SB 299, a bill that ensures continued health care coverage for pregnant workers on disability leave in California.  Learn more.
• ERA joins the California Work and Family Coalition in supporting legislation in 2013 to create fair workplace protections for California’s caregivers.
  
  • Senate Bill 404 (Jackson):  ERA is leading the effort to pass a California bill, SB 404, that would include “familial status” as a protected status under the employment discrimination provisions of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Learn more and take action.
  • Expanding Paid Family Leave To Include Caregiver Benefits for Siblings, Grandparents, Grandchildren, and Parents in Law: This year, Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson introduced SB 770 to allow workers to receive partial pay through California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program, when they must miss work to care for siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and parents in law.
  • Prohibiting Employers from Retaliating Against Employees for Receiving Paid Family Leave Benefits: This year, Senator Mark DeSaulnier introduced SB 761 to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees for obtaining or attempting to obtain Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits. The PFL program currently does not protect workers from retaliation by employers for use of the PFL program. The bill thus provides an essential protection for California’s caregivers. Learn more.
• ERA advocates for enhanced protections for working families at the administrative enforcement and rulemaking level.
  • In 2012, ERA submitted comments to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) urging increased protections for pregnant workers and caregivers.
  • ERA and other women’s and civil rights group recently achieved a significant victory to better protect pregnant workers in California through revision of state regulations in December 2012.  Learn more.

Helping Pregnant Women and Caregivers Address Discrimination and Unfair Treatment at Work

• ERA engages in selective litigation to highlight the problems faced by working families. ERA currently represents several women in developing pregnancy discrimination cases, including low wage, immigrant, and minority workers who often face egregious discrimination.
  • Meet Joanna:  ERA Helps Pregnant Mechanic  Find a Reasonable Accommodation and Keep Her Job.
• In 2011-2012, with the support of a fellowship funded by NYU School of Law, ERA created a program focused on helping pregnant workers keep their jobs without compromising their health. These efforts include advocacy for the right of pregnant workers to minor accommodations at work, and informal negotiations with employers to address problems quickly and without the need for litigation. Learn more.

Educating Caregivers About Their Workplace Rights

• ERA has formed a partnership with the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to provide doctors with educational materials about their patients’ rights to pregnancy and family/medical leave. Read our ERA Doctor Fact Sheet re Pregnancy Accommodation
• ERA expanded its partnerships with the health care community through a fellowship funded by UC Hastings School of Law. Through the fellowship, ERA provided trainings to OB/GYN, maternal care, and infant care medical providers about their patients’ workplace rights. Learn more.
• ERA also collaborates closely with the California Work and Family Coalition to advance policy and legislative goals to protect working families.
  

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