Los Angeles, CA employment plaintiffs attorney Navid Yadegar talks about what’s required to win a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit. He addresses the requirements for establishing a pregnancy discrimination claim, which generally requires an employee to be pregnant and to have disclosed the pregnancy to the employer. He notes that an employer generally cannot be held liable for pregnancy discrimination if it was unaware of the pregnancy, although there may be circumstances where the pregnancy can be established through other evidence. Once the employer is aware of the pregnancy, the employee must show that the employer took an adverse employment action because of the pregnancy.

He explains that an adverse employment action can take many forms, including demotion, reduced responsibilities, exclusion from important meetings, or termination. He points out that termination may sometimes occur immediately after an employee discloses the pregnancy, while in other situations, adverse treatment may arise after the employee returns from pregnancy leave, bonding leave, or leave related to medical complications associated with the pregnancy. These actions may include demotion, reduced responsibilities, or other changes that negatively affect the employee’s position.

He emphasizes that, to prevail on a pregnancy discrimination claim, an employee must demonstrate that the employer knew about the pregnancy and took adverse action that was motivated by the pregnancy. The employee must establish a connection between the employer’s knowledge of the pregnancy and the action that negatively affected the employee’s employment.