As the world enters year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued a warning to employers of yet another risk to their businesses: caregiver discrimination claims.
It is no surprise that the pandemic has significantly disrupted (and continues to disrupt) employee work and personal obligations. School and childcare closures, as well as quarantine requirements, have put many workers in a bind, forcing some to choose between the competing demands of work and caregiving for their loved ones.
Large numbers of women, in particular, have left the workforce due to caregiving responsibilities, and now the “Great Resignation,” coupled with increased pressure for flexible work arrangements, has opened the door to a new form of employment liability for businesses.
The EEOC recently issued new guidance for employers to navigate the “new normal” and to address how an employer’s decisions and actions involving workers with caregiving responsibilities may violate laws protecting workers from discrimination. This new guidance supplements the EEOC’s previously issued “best practices” for employers on how to recognize and prevent caregiver discrimination. Employers should be aware of the heightened risk of caregiver discrimination claims following the EEOC’s guidance, and of the changing employee expectations that may make these claims more likely.
An employee generally cannot bring a discrimination claim against an employer under federal...
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