EEOC Issues Guidance on How Title VII and the ADA Apply to Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a guidance document on how agency-enforced laws apply to workers with caregiving responsibilities.

The new guidance was issued by the EEOC as a proactive measure to address an emerging discrimination issue in the 21st century workplace. The document, Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities, provides examples under which discrimination against a working parent or other caregiver may constitute unlawful disparate treatment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The guidance notes that changing workplace demographics, including women’s increased participation in the labor force, have created the potential for greater discrimination against working parents and others with caregiving responsibilities, such as eldercare – all of which may vary by gender, race or ethnicity.

“With this new guidance, the Commission is clarifying how the federal EEO laws apply to employees who struggle to balance work and family,” said agency Vice Chair Leslie E. Silverman. “Fortunately, many employers have recognized employees’ need to balance work and family, and have responded in very positive and creative ways.”

The guidance, available online at www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/caregiving.html along with a question and answer fact sheet, states: “This document is not intended to create a new protected category but rather to illustrate circumstances in which stereotyping or other forms of disparate treatment may violate Title VII or the prohibition under the ADA against discrimination based on a worker’s association with an individual with a disability.”

A wide range of circumstances are highlighted in the guidance, including: sex-based stereotyping and subjective decision making regarding working mothers; assumptions about pregnant workers; discrimination against working fathers and women of color; stereotyping based on association with an individual with a disability; and hostile work environments affecting caregivers. The guidance is intended to assist employers, employees, and EEOC staff alike.

Source: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
No copyright is claimed in this government press release.

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