EEOC offers best practices to prevent caregiver discrimination ...

THE LAW: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the ADA, the Pregnancy Dis??crimi??nation Act, the Age Dis??crimi?nation in Employment Act, the Equal Pay Act and the FMLA form a loose web of protection for employees the EEOC terms ?caregivers??those who have caregiving re??spon?si?bil?ities for minor children, dis??abled adult children or elderly parents.

WHAT?S NEW: In February, the EEOC held hearings on caregiver issues. Much of the discussion fo???cused on pregnancy discrimination, an issue of greater importance now that the economic downturn has in??creased the percentage women in the workforce. Women currently make up 47% of the nation?s workforce.

Record numbers of working adults now care for elderly parents, a burden that falls disproportionately on women. Working women (20% of all working women) are more likely to be caregivers than working men (16%).

For federal fiscal year 2011, the EEOC resolved the second highest number of pregnancy discrimination cases (828) in its history, resulting in $17.2 million flowing from employers to employees who suffered discrimination.

HOW TO COMPLY: In 2007, the EEOC issued its Employer Best Prac??tices for Workers with Caregiving Re??sponsibilities. Best practices fall into three groups: (1) general, (2) recruiting hiring and promotion and (3) employment terms, conditions and privileges.

General best practices

??? ?Be aware of, and train managers about, the legal obligations that may affect treatment of workers with caregiving responsibilities.

??? ?Develop and enforce a strong EEO policy and train managers to be aware of caregivers and their responsibilities. Employers should interpret ?family? broadly.

??? ?Managers should avoid stereotypes such as assuming female workers are less capable or available be??cause of their caregiving responsibilities.

??? ?Management training should in??clude specific examples of illegal behavior.

??? ?Managers should also be aware of actions that may constitute retaliation. Name an office or person to whom employees may report discrimination complaints.

??? ?Ensure that managers at all levels are aware of, and comply with, the organization?s work-life policies. Provide incentives for managers to ensure that their employees are aware of work-life balance programs.

??? ?Include willingness to assist employees who have caregiving responsibilities when evaluating supervisors? performance.

??? ?Respond to all complaints of caregiver discrimination.

Recruitment, hiring, promotion

??? ?Do not ask about an applicant?s or employee?s family life during interviews or performance reviews.

??? ?Review employment policies and practices?particularly those re??lated to hiring, promotion, pay, benefits, attendance, and leave?to deter?mine how they affect workers with caregiving responsibilities.

??? ?Develop specific, job-related qualification standards for each position that reflect the duties, functions, and competencies of the position.

??? ?Ensure that job openings and promotion opportunities are communicated to all em???ployees, regardless of caregiving responsibilities.

??? ?Implement recruitment practices that target individuals with caregiving responsibilities.

??? ?Identify and remove barriers to re-entry for individuals who have taken leaves of absence from the workforce due to caregiving responsibilities, including policies that penalize workers who take time off for caregiver responsibilities.

??? ?Ensure that employment decisions are documented and transparent.

??? ?Retain records relevant to decisions about hiring, promotion, performance, pay, leave, benefits, awards and other employment decisions.

Employment terms & conditions

??? ?Monitor compensation practices and performance-appraisal systems for patterns of potential discrimination against caregivers.

??? ?Review policies that limit flexibility, such as fixed hours and mandatory overtime.

??? ?Encourage employees to request flexible work arrangements that allow them to balance work and personal responsibilities. Flexible work arrangements may include flextime programs, flexible week opportunities and telecommuting and work-at-home programs. Other arrangements include reduced-time options such as part-time work and job sharing.

??? ?Reassign job duties that ?employees are unable to perform because of caregiving responsibilities.

??? ?Provide reasonable personal or sick leave to allow employees to engage in caregiving, even if not required to do so by the FMLA.

??? ?Post employee schedules as early as possible so em??ployees can arrange in advance for child care.

??? ?Give all workers equal access to training, high-profile work assignments and workplace networks.

??? ?Provide caregiver resources and referral services.

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