Family, Disability, and Medical Leave Rights

CFRA Retaliation

CFRA retaliation occurs when your employer punishes you for requesting or taking protected family or medical leave under California law. The California Family Rights Act applies to employers with five or more employees and protects eligible workers who need leave for their own serious health condition or to care for a family member. Your employer cannot fire you, demote you, cut your hours, or otherwise treat you differently because you used CFRA leave. They also cannot use your leave as a negative factor in performance reviews or job decisions. Retaliation often appears as sudden discipline, new performance complaints, or changes to your job after you return from leave. Centurion Trial Attorneys protects California employees who are targeted for exercising their CFRA rights.

Failure to Accommodate Disabilities

Federal law requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified workers with disabilities. California law expands these protections to employers with five or more employees. Failure to accommodate disabilities occurs when your employer refuses to provide reasonable adjustments that would allow you to do your job. These accommodations can include modified duties, adjusted schedules, remote work, assistive equipment, or changes to workplace policies. The law also requires your employer to engage in a good-faith interactive process with you to explore reasonable accommodations. Your employer cannot ignore your request, delay indefinitely, or retaliate against you for asking. Retaliation often shows up as sudden discipline, reduced hours, negative evaluations, or termination after you request help. Centurion Trial Attorneys protects employees whose employers deny accommodations and punish them for asserting their rights.

Failure to Accommodate Pregnancy

Federal and California law require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. Failure to accommodate pregnancy occurs when your employer refuses to provide adjustments that would allow you to keep working safely. These accommodations can include modified duties, schedule changes, additional breaks, light duty, or temporary job modifications. Your employer cannot force you onto leave if a reasonable accommodation is available. They also cannot wrongfully deny accommodations, delay the process, or retaliate against you for asking. Centurion Trial Attorneys protects employees whose employers fail to accommodate pregnancy and deny them the protections the law requires.

Failure to Engage in the Interactive Process

Federal and California laws require employers to engage in a good-faith interactive process with employees who request disability accommodations. This process requires open communication and a genuine effort to identify reasonable accommodations that allow you to do your job. Failure to engage in the interactive process occurs when your employer ignores your request, delays indefinitely, refuses to discuss options, or shuts down the conversation without explanation. An employer cannot simply say “no” without exploring possible solutions. This breakdown often appears as silence, repeated requests for unnecessary paperwork, or discipline after you ask for help. Centurion Trial Attorneys protects employees whose employers fail to engage in the interactive process and deny them a fair opportunity to work.

FEHA Retaliation

FEHA retaliation occurs when your employer punishes you for asserting your rights under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act. This includes retaliation for reporting discrimination or harassment, requesting accommodations, taking protected leave, participating in an investigation, or supporting a coworker’s complaint. Retaliation can take many forms, such as termination, demotion, reduced hours, write-ups, or sudden negative performance reviews after you speak up. You do not have to prove the underlying discrimination was ultimately true for retaliation to be unlawful—your complaint just needs to be made in good faith. California law is clear that employers cannot silence employees by using fear or punishment. Attorney Ryan’s team protects workers who are retaliated against for standing up for their rights under FEHA.

FMLA Retaliation

The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act protects your right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid but job-protected leave. Most employees qualify for FMLA after working at least 12 months and 1,250 hours, as long as their employer has 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. In California, employees can get CFRA leave, which provides similar protections, but applies to employers of 5 or more workers anywhere in the state. FMLA retaliation occurs when your employer punishes you for requesting or taking protected medical or family leave. This can include being fired, demoted, written up, taken off the schedule, or treated differently after you return to work. The law allows you to take protected leave for your own serious health condition or to care for a family member without fear of punishment. Your employer cannot use your leave as a negative factor in employment decisions. Retaliation often shows up as sudden discipline, performance complaints, or job changes that never existed before your leave. Led by Attorney Ryan Stygar, Centurion Trial Attorneys protects employees who are targeted after exercising their right to medical or family leave.

Lactation Accommodation

California law requires employers to provide reasonable lactation accommodations to employees who need to express breast milk at work. Employers must provide adequate break time and a private space that is safe, clean, and free from intrusion. The space must be close to your work area and cannot be a bathroom. Employers must also provide access to electricity, a place to sit, a surface for a breast pump and supplies, and access to a refrigerator or other suitable cooling device for milk storage. Your employer cannot wrongfully deny these accommodations or retaliate against you for requesting them. Centurion Trial Attorneys protects California employees whose employers fail to provide legally required lactation accommodations.

Pregnancy Discrimination

Pregnancy discrimination occurs when your employer treats you unfairly because you are pregnant, have a pregnancy-related medical condition, or recently gave birth. This can include being fired, demoted, denied accommodations, forced onto leave, or treated differently after announcing your pregnancy. The law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limitations so you can continue working safely. Your employer cannot punish you for requesting accommodations. They also cannot retaliate against you for taking family or medical leave related to your pregnancy. Pregnancy discrimination often shows up as sudden discipline, reduced hours, or pressure to step away from your job. Centurion Trial Attorneys, led by Attorney Ryan Stygar, aggressively represents employees harmed by pregnancy discrimination.

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. These accommodations can include modified duties, schedule changes, additional breaks, remote work, or temporary adjustments that allow you to keep working safely. Your employer cannot force you onto leave if a reasonable accommodation would let you continue working. They also cannot wrongfully deny accommodations, unreasonably delay the process, or retaliate against you for asking. Violations often show up as blanket denials, pressure to resign, or punishment after you request help. Centurion Trial Attorneys protects employees whose employers violate the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and deny them legally required accommodations.

PUMP Act Violations

PUMP Act violations occur when your employer fails to provide legally required break time or a private space for you to express breast milk at work. The space provided must be shielded from view, free from intrusion, and it must not be a bathroom. These protections apply for up to one year after your child is born. Your employer cannot wrongfully deny these accommodations, cut your pay unlawfully, or discipline you for requesting them. Retaliation can include reduced hours, write-ups, schedule changes, or pressure to stop pumping. Centurion Trial Attorneys protects employees whose employers ignore PUMP Act requirements.

Undue Hardship Claims

Undue hardship is a narrow legal defense employers sometimes raise to avoid providing workplace accommodations. An accommodation creates an undue hardship only if it would cause significant difficulty or expense in light of the employer’s size, resources, and operations. Employers often misuse this concept by rejecting accommodations without analysis, exaggerating costs, or claiming inconvenience as hardship. The law does not allow an employer to deny accommodations simply because they are inconvenient or require change. When an employer falsely claims undue hardship, it can violate disability and pregnancy accommodation laws. Centurion Trial Attorneys challenges improper undue hardship claims and protects employees whose accommodation requests were unlawfully denied.