EEOC Issues Guidance on Discrimination Against Caregivers

Donna Adkins of the U.C. Hastings Center for WorkLife Law reports that the EEOC today has issued a Guidance on the Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities.  The Guidance advises that discrimination can take the form of different treatment of men and women with young children, such as selecting fathers but not mothers for a training program.  It also advises that discrimination can take the form of stereotyping, such as giving less desirable assignments to mothers on the assumption that they are not as committed to their jobs.  Here's an excerpt from the Guidance's introduction:

Although the federal EEO laws do not prohibit discrimination against caregivers per se, there are circumstances in which discrimination against caregivers might constitute unlawful disparate treatment . . . . 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.  An employer may also have specific obligations towards caregivers under other federal statutes, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, or under state or local laws.

As Paul reported last month, Worklife Law's Joan Williams was one of the folks who testified before the EEOC about the need for such a Guidance.

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