January 8, 2019
Juggling work and family life is often a central point of conflict and tension for many employees in the workforce. Employees’ expectations that they should be able to raise children and care for their families often collide with their employers’ desire that they be “ideal workers,” able to devote 100% of their time and energy to business-related pursuits. These clashing expectations, while always present, have more recently become exacerbated by the changing demographics of the workforce.
According to a new study conducted by WorkLife Law, there has been a dramatic increase over the past decade in the number of lawsuits filed against employers for discrimination against employees who have family caregiving obligations. The report, titled “Caregivers in the Workplace,” analyzed 4,400 cases (both federal and state) alleging “family responsibilities discrimination,” which includes complaints of discrimination based on pregnancy, motherhood, fatherhood, care for sick or aging parents, and care for family members with disabilities or who are ill.
The study found that family responsibilities discrimination cases have increased 269% percent over the past 10 years, a higher rate than other employment cases. (Indeed, during this time federal employment discrimination cases decreased.) Several trends have led to the increase in family responsibilities discrimination cases. Most American households (64%) have all adults in the paid workforce, meaning no one is at home to care for family matters. The number of men who are caregivers, and are actively involved in childcare, spousal care, and elder care, has also increased, which in turn has increased the number of cases filed by male plaintiffs. In the past decade, male employees brought 55% of spousal care cases, 39% of eldercare cases, and 28% of childcare cases. The study also found that more fathers than mothers are now reporting work/family conflict. Additionally, the amount of aging parents who need assistance has greatly increased. Cases involving eldercare have skyrocketed over the past 10 years, rising 650%. This growth is expected to continue as both the population and the workforce age, especially since employees over the age of 55 are most likely to provide eldercare. Indeed, half of all employees expect to provide eldercare in the next 5 years.
The study identified several fact patterns that tend to trigger family responsibilities discrimination. One such trend is the “new supervisor syndrome.” While an employee may have had no problems under a previous supervisor, a new supervisor might change shifts, cancel a flexible work arrangement, or impose new productivity requirements. Another common pattern is the “second child bias,” where some mothers who experienced little or no discrimination with their first child suddenly face hostility when they become pregnant with their second child, since employers assume they cannot (or will not want to) balance work and multiple children.
Working and providing family care should not be mutually exclusive. The number of employees with caregiving responsibilities has increased over the past decade, but employers have not implemented effective practices to manage employees with family caregiving obligations. Employers need to adjust their expectations to fit the realities of the modern world, especially since almost all employees will likely be caregivers at some point during their careers. Employers should take affirmative steps to prevent family responsibilities discrimination from occurring, such as providing supervisor training, adopting anti-discrimination policies or adding family responsibilities as a protected category to an existing policy, encouraging active oversight by human resources personnel, creating work coverage plans in anticipation of employees’ likely absences for family care, and implementing effective complaint procedures. Preventing family responsibilities discrimination will avoid more than just the obvious costs of litigation, it will also improve morale, productivity, and relationships with employees and customers.
If you are an employee who has been discriminated against, harassed, disciplined, or fired for providing family care, or if you are an employer eager to prevent such discrimination from occurring in the workplace, please contact ESKRIDGE LAW.
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ESKRIDGE LAW may be contacted by phone (310/303-3951), by fax (310/303-3952) or by email (geskridge@eskridgelaw.net). Please visit our website at eskridge.hv-dev.com.
This article is based on the law as of the date posted at the top of the article. This article does not constitute the provision of legal advice, and does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship with Eskridge Law.