Working Caregiver / Associational Discrimination
A caregiver refers to an employee that has responsibilities to a spouse, child or other immediate family member.
Although the law does not prohibit discrimination against caregivers per se, there are circumstances in which discrimination against caregivers might constitute unlawful treatment.
For example, employment actions motivated by sex based stereotypes may violate Title VII. If a female employee is passed over for a promotion because she has young children at home and the employer assumes she was not interested in advancing her career, such conduct would Title VII, which prohibits sex discrimination. This prohibition includes discrimination against an employee because of sex-based stereotypes, such as the stereotype that mothers are unreliable or uncommitted employees. Indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the “‘pervasive presumption that women are mothers first, and workers second' is among the sex stereotypes Congress has explicitly identified as impermissible.” Women with children deserve the opportunity to be judged fairly in the workplace based on their qualifications and abilities, not on assumptions about their commitment to their careers.
Discrimination based on a worker’s association with an individual with a disability may violate the ADA
An employer may also have specific obligations towards caregivers under the FMLA.
Employers can also violate Title VII or the PDA by making assumptions about pregnant employees, such as assumptions about the commitment of pregnant workers to their job or their ability to perform certain physical tasks.
Employers may be liable if workers with caregiving responsibilities are subjected to offensive comments or other harassment because of race, sex, pregnancy, association with an individual with a disability, or another protected characteristic and the conduct is sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile work environment.