Pennsylvania employers may need to rethink how they treat workers with caregiving responsibilities - and fast.
Twenty-four state lawmakers introduced House Bill 2871 on October 21, 2026, proposing two new protected classes under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act: marital status and family caregiver status. If the bill passes, firing, refusing to hire, or otherwise penalizing someone because they care for a sick parent or a child with a disability would be unlawful discrimination.
The caregiver piece is the one HR teams should pay attention to.
The bill defines “family caregiver status” as a person who provides medical or supervisory care to someone related by blood, legal custody, or marriage. That is deliberately broad. It would cover an employee looking after an aging mother, a worker managing a child’s medical appointments, or someone caring for a spouse after surgery. Any employment decision made on those grounds - from termination to a passed-over promotion - would be a violation.
Marital status gets the same treatment. Whether someone is single, married, divorced, separated, or widowed could no longer factor into hiring, pay, job conditions, or dismissal.
The bill also reaches into how employers recruit and screen candidates. Before making a job offer, employers would be barred from asking about an applicant’s marital or caregiver status. Job ads that express a preference or limitation on either ground would be unlawful. And employers could not steer their...
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