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| EEOC Guide to Caregiver Bias |
For the past few years, "Family Responsibility Discrimination" has been a hot topic among human resource professionals. Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a new guide explaining when discrimination against a working parent or other caregiver may constitute "disparate treatment" in violation of federal laws.
The Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities guide and Questions and Answers factsheet were issued on May 23, 2007.
As noted in the guide, "federal EEO laws do not prohibit discrimination against caregivers." Likewise, the factsheet says, "federal EEO statutes do not prohibit discrimination based solely on parental or other caregiver status. Under the federal EEO laws, [illegal] discrimination must be based on a protected characteristic such as sex or race."
For example, firing employees because they have a parent or child needing the employee's care is not discrimination on the basis of the employee's race, sex, religion, age, disability status, or other federally protected characteristic. Unfortunately for employers, that doesn't mean it's always legal.
This is true because any policy or practice of firing (or otherwise limiting opportunities for) employees with caregiving duties may result in illegal discrimination. Most often, this occurs when caregiver bias leads to (1) sex discrimination, i.e., women losing their jobs or career opportunities more often than men, or (2) "association" disability discrimination, i.e., people losing their jobs due to their relationship with a disabled person.
"This guidance recognizes the connection between parenthood, especially motherhood, and employment discrimination," said EEOC Commissioner Stuart Ishimaru. "An employer may violate Title VII when it takes actions or limits opportunities for employees because of beliefs that the employer has about mothers and caretakers that are linked to sex."
The guide illustrates that illegal bias can occur even if employers' motives are generous and they engage in "benevolent stereotyping." The guide explains that "decisions based on gender stereotypes are sometimes well-intentioned and perceived by the employer as being in the employee's best interest."
"For example, an employer might assume that a working mother would not want to relocate to another city, even if it would mean a promotion," the guide states. Another example involves limiting overtime work for a woman because of her new caregiving responsibilities. However, these benign decisions are "adverse actions that are based on sex stereotyping [and] violate Title VII, even if the employer is not acting out of hostility," the EEOC warns.
For information on this topic tailored to your company profile, request Memos: |
5505 Individuals-Activities Protected from Discrimination
5510 Legitimate Business Reason for Discrimination
5705 Persons Protected from Disability Discrimination
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