The federal District Court for the Northern District of California denied Deloitte’s Motion to Dismiss and Motion to Strike or Narrow Class Claims in Barela v Deloitte Consulting, No. 26 cv 03051 ( N.D. Cal.), finding that Plaintiff Barela had properly stated class claims on behalf of Deloitte Consulting employees who have taken pregnancy or parental leave. The District Court ruled that under the Family Medical Leave Act and Pregnancy Worker Fairness Act, an employer cannot penalize an employee for taking pregnancy or parental leave by giving that employee lower performance scores resulting in lower salary increases in the years in which they take leave on the basis that their billable hours and sales are lower in those years than the billable hours and sales of employees who work a full 12 months. The District Court also ruled that Plaintiff Barela sufficiently alleged that penalizing persons who take pregnancy and parental leave constitutes gender discrimination in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and California’s Fair Employment Housing Act because women are disproportionately adversely impacted by that policy and practice.
A copy of the order is available here.