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EEOC guidance on “caregiver” bias

EEOC has issued guidance on how federal nondiscrimination laws may apply to workers with caregiving responsibilities.

     The agency says it is publishing the guidance as a proactive measure to address an emerging discrimination issue in the workplace. The guidance notes that changing workplace demographics, including the increased participation of women in the labor force, have created the potential for greater discrimination against working parents and others with caregiving responsibilities, such as eldercare. All of these caregivers can vary by gender, race, and ethnicity.

     The nondiscrimination laws do not prohibit discrimination against caregivers per se, says the EEOC, nor is the guidance meant to create a new protected category. However, there are circumstances in which stereotyping and other forms of disparate treatment of workers with caregiving responsibilities might constitute unlawful discrimination.

     The guidance highlights a range of situations in which nondiscrimination laws could come into play, including:

• Treating female caregivers less favorably than male caregivers

• Sex-based stereotyping, such as failing to offer a young mother with children the chance to work overtime based on the assumption that she would not or should not work long hours

• Discrimination against working fathers and women of color

• Stereotyping based on association with a individual with a disability, such as refusing to hire an applicant whose spouse has a disability because the employer assumes the applicant would have to use frequent leave and arrive late for work due to the responsibility of caring for the spouse

• Hostile environments affecting caregivers

     Along with the guidance, the EEOC also issued an accompanying question-and-answer fact sheet.

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