Q: Do I have a pregnancy discrimination case?
Do I have a case of pregnancy discrimination?
I was supposed to get bonus on December, I left the office on July due to pregnancy related issues. i was in pregnancy disability and paid family leave. I ask for my bonus but my employer said since he only have 3 employees, he does not need me to give the bonus. Is that correct or I can sue him for discrimination?
A:
There is a lot more information I would need to be able to give you solid advice.
Based on what you have said, however, I can't see a pregnancy discrimination claim here.
A bonus is not regular salary in the ordinary case, unless there is a bonus structure and you have met all the requirements to qualify for a bonus. Since you are only one of 3 employees, I can't see a viable claim for a bonus. You don't indicate when you returned to work after having your baby, so there is not enough information available to give you a better assessment of your situation.
A:
Even if this is pregnancy discrimination, you unfortunately have no viable claim for unlawful discrimination. That is because the California anti-discrimination in employment law - the Fair Employment and Housing Act - only applies to businesses with 5 or more employees. An employer with only 3 employees can discriminate all it wants based on your status as being pregnant without facing legal repercussions. There is a federal statute, but it requires that the employer have 25 or more employees.
Good luck with the new baby.
A:
Unfortunately, California's Pregnancy Disability Leave Law only applies to employers with 5 or more employees. California counts employees on a worldwide basis.
If your employer had at least 5 employees so that PDLL applied, you could have a strong claim.
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