CRD proposes changes to pregnancy accommodations, certification and bonding leave

What happened

The Civil Rights Council's October 16, 2026 notice proposes amendments to California's pregnancy and CFRA employment regulations. The proposal retains general coverage of private employers with five or more employees, while the harassment provision reaches employers with one or more employees. It would expand and reorganize pregnancy-related definitions, expressly address discriminatory automated employment decisions, and clarify that a qualified employee can include someone whose inability to perform an essential function can be reasonably accommodated through its temporary suspension or other arrangements. The Council will hold a hearing December 8 at 11 a.m.; written comments must be received that day by 5 p.m. The notice establishes a proposed rulemaking, not an effective date for the amendments.

Accommodation and transfer requests could be made at any time, with employer responses required as soon as practicable and unnecessary delay potentially violating the rule even if relief is eventually provided. The proposal would replace the current combined ten-calendar-day response language with separate, context-specific provisions. It identifies water, restroom, sitting or standing, and eating or drinking breaks as common accommodations for which delay will likely be unnecessary. Temporary work-enabling accommodations would count in the delay assessment; leave would count for that purpose only when selected or requested by the employee. Pregnancy-disability-leave notice would require reasonable advance notice, with 30 days creating a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness rather than a fixed minimum, and notice as soon as practicable when advance notice is impracticable.

The proposed certification section would permit medical certification only when reasonable under the circumstances, require acceptance of sufficient documentation and an opportunity to cure deficiencies, and prohibit requiring the certifier to be the treating provider. For accommodations, certification would not be reasonable when the need is obvious, sufficient information is already available, specified simple accommodations are requested, certain pumping or nursing accommodations are involved, or comparable accommodations are available to others without certification. Only employee self-confirmation could be requested for the specified simple accommodations. An unreasonable documentation demand could not justify denial, and excessive demands could constitute interference or retaliation. Return-to-work language would expressly contemplate return with or without reasonable accommodation under a uniformly applied release policy.

For CFRA bonding leave, the Council proposes deleting the two-week minimum and the rule guaranteeing only two shorter occasions, while retaining the requirement to conclude bonding leave within one year of birth or placement. The text also clarifies that pregnancy disability leave, CFRA and accommodation leave under the PWFA or FEHA are distinct entitlements. Exhausting pregnancy disability leave and any available CFRA leave would not automatically end assessment of additional reasonable-accommodation leave. That assessment remains conditional on the applicable law and, for FEHA disability accommodation, a qualifying disability; the proposal does not promise unlimited leave or remove CFRA eligibility requirements.

Why it matters

Covered private healthcare and health-tech employers may need coordinated changes across accommodation intake, leave administration, certification forms, return-to-work practices and scheduling systems. Automated HR tools and vendor workflows also warrant review because the proposal expressly addresses discriminatory selection systems.

Implementation playbook

1. Recommended internal target: assign HR, legal and leave-vendor owners and identify affected forms and automated workflows. Legal · Due 2026-10-23
2. Recommended internal target: assess certification rules, response timing, simple accommodations, bonding minimums and leave-exhaustion decisions. Compliance · Due 2026-11-06
3. Recommended internal target: prepare any proposed comments and implementation questions for review before the official December 8, 5 p.m. comment deadline. Legal · Due 2026-11-20

Sources

• October 16 Notice Register: pregnancy accommodations and bonding-leave proposalOfficial · California Office of Administrative Law · 2026-10-16
• Proposed text: pregnancy leave, reasonable accommodations, transfers and bonding leaveOfficial · California Civil Rights Council
• Initial Statement of Reasons: pregnancy accommodations and bonding leaveOfficial · California Civil Rights Council