In March of 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance about “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Caregiver Discrimination Under Federal Employment Discrimination Law” and also updated guidance on “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws” to explain discrimination against employees and job seekers with family caregiving responsibilities.
Based on existing EEOC policy guidance, these two documents outline how discrimination against applicants or employees with caregiving responsibilities can violate federal equal employment laws when based on a protected characteristic such as sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), race, color, religion, national origin, age (40 years old or older), disability, or genetic information.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, employees who are caregivers have adjusted to quarantine requirements or abrupt closures or schedule changes at schools, care facilities, childcare centers, or businesses. However, an employer’s assumptions or stereotypes about caregivers may result in illegal discrimination when those assumptions lead the employer to make employment decisions based on a protected characteristic.
For example, it would be illegal if an employer refused to hire an applicant who is the primary caregiver of an individual with a disability who is at higher risk of complications from COVID-19 out of fear that the employer’s healthcare costs would...
MUNCIE, Ind.–A Muncie man faces eight federal charges accusing him of filing more than $1 million in false COVID-19 tax credit claims. Gregory Vernon Dupree, 38, was charged in a federal indictmen...