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Discrimination Against Employees with Caregiving or Family Responsibilities

By Karla Grossenbacher

It is a reality in today's workplace, especially in light of the recent economic downturn, that both husband and wife often are working full-time jobs (and possibly part-time jobs on top of those) to make ends meet. The increased absence of primary caregivers from the home has put a spotlight on issues that arise in the workplace related to employees' responsibilities as caregivers for their families, and in some cases, for elderly parents or relatives. These issues permeate the workplace, arising in the context of employee recruitment, growth, development and career advancement, and employee requests for time off, flexible schedules and other benefits.

If not handled properly, issues related to the management of caregiving responsibilities can give rise to a number of employee relations and morale issues, as well as costs associated with employee turnover and loss of productivity. In addition to such day-to-day workforce issues, employers must manage a number of legal risks when dealing with issues arising out of employees' caregiver responsibilities. These legal risks can arise under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), and a host of other federal, state, and local employment laws. In this regard, the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, Hastings College of Law issued a report in December 2009 about a study it conducted in which it found a 400% increase in the number of discrimination cases implicating caregiver responsibilities that were filed between 1996 and 2005 as compared with 1986 and 1995. There is no reason to believe this upward trend will not continue.

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