Without question pregnancy changes women’s bodies in many ways. Some changes are obvious to everyone over the course of nine months.  Others may be obvious only to the woman who is pregnant—exhaustion, nausea, and strange food cravings.  (I know this because I am a father of two, I have taken natural childbirth classes as a coach, and sometimes I get strange food cravings myself.)  While these changes may be normal features of a healthy pregnancy,  I have observed in co-workers that they can also be disabling in that they can make a normal workday impossible to bear. 

Employers cannot discriminate against a pregnant employee in the state of California. This commonly occurs when an employer treats disabilities due to pregnancy distinct from and less beneficially than disabilities due to other medical conditions. The California labor law requires that employers treat pregnant women the same as other employees for all employment purposes, including benefits such as pregnancy disability and leave. 

This leave can include time for prenatal care, severe morning sickness, doctor-ordered bed rest, actual childbirth and recovery after childbirth or miscarriages.  Pregnancy leave need not be taken all at one time; it may be used in increments as the need arises.  For example, a woman may use pregnancy leave early in the pregnancy for severe morning sickness, come back to work, and then utilize the remaining leave for the actual childbirth and recovery time. 

Employers must hold their pregnant employee's position open in the same way that jobs are held open for other employees on leave. At the expiration of the pregnancy leave, the employee must be reinstated to her position.

There are related employment laws that also provide job protected leave, such as Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA),

(You guys can also potentially participate in infant care and bonding under these Acts.)  I can’t really cite all of the rights, restrictions, and qualifications that go along with PDL and these other laws in a blog.  Therefore, I suggest you spend some time with a trained and knowledgeable person, and also you may want to take a look at the information the internet has on this subject. 

In all seriousness, I would like you to know that Riverside County takes pride in being a family-friendly employer.  Which not only involves observing labor laws, but a genuine interest in the well being of employees as they function as a whole person balancing work and family obligations. 

One reflection of that commitment is illustrated by the fact that we offer our own self-run health maintenance plan (HMO), which significantly lowers the cost of family coverage.  You don’t even need five fingers to count the number of other employer who do the same.

In the Coachella Valley we have three strategically placed hospitals, at each end and in the middle (Desert Regional Medical Center, Eisenhower, and JFK).  Sinatra was a large donor to what was originally called Desert Hospital (Palm Springs). It has undergone a huge expansion since I fist came to the Valley. 

 I remember going to see a co-worker’s newborn daughter and at that time the nursery had no interior corridor viewing area, you actually had to stand outside and peak through the windows.  Now of course, it is a state of the art facility. 

At some point in time my family or I have visited all three as patients.  The largest medical complex and hospital is Eisenhower in Palm Desert, named after the former President who retired here.  I know I am going to loose some of you here, but I saw this great bumper sticker over the weekend, it read… “I miss Ike… hell, I even miss Harry!” 

The third hospital received its name as an authorized dedication to the memory John Fitzgerald Kennedy our 35^th President, and is located in Indio (the city from whence I blog).