On March 14, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a technical assistance document providing guidance when it comes to claims of discrimination against employees and applicants with caregiving responsibilities in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic (“Guidelines”). The Guidelines, entitled “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Caregiver Discrimination Under Federal Employment Discrimination Laws”, examine discrimination against employees and applicants based on pandemic caregiving responsibilities, noting that such discrimination may violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) or Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act), or other federal laws.
The Guidelines explicitly state that Federal employment discrimination laws do not prohibit employment discrimination based solely on caregiver status. However, caregiver discrimination may violate federal law when it is based on an employee’s or applicant’s protected characteristics including, but not limited to, race or sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity). Caregiver discrimination also is unlawful if it is “based on an applicant’s or employee’s association with an individual with a disability, within the meaning of the ADA, or on the race, ethnicity, or other protected characteristic of the individual for whom care is provided.”
The Guidelines provide multiple...
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