United States: Employee Who Exhausted Four Months Of Pregnancy Leave Was Entitled To Further Disability Leave

Sanchez v. Swissport, Inc., 2013 WL 635266 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013)

In a case of first impression, the California Court of Appeal determined in this case whether an employee who has exhausted all permissible leave (four months) under the California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law ("PDLL") may state a claim for failure to accommodate a disability under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA"). The Court answered the question in the affirmative, holding that Ana G. Fuentes Sanchez could proceed with her FEHA disability claim despite the fact that her employer had provided her more than 19 weeks of leave associated with her pregnancy. The Court reasoned that the four months of leave provided by the PDLL "augment, rather than supplant, [the leave remedies] set forth elsewhere in the FEHA."

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