New York is a leader in many areas, including the fight to stamp unfair discrimination in the workplace. New York was one of the earliest states to recognize that discrimination based on a worker’s family responsibilities or caregiver status is an unfair employment practice. New York City also bans the practice. If you have been fired, demoted, denied a promotion, or otherwise punished at work because you care for a child, parent, sibling, or other loved one, your employer may have violated state or city law, and you could be entitled to compensation for the effects of that punishment. A knowledgeable New York caregiver discrimination lawyer can go over your situation with you and advise you on what to do next.
Illinois is the newest state to ban discrimination based on family responsibilities/caregiver status. The new Illinois statute, which went into effect the first of this month, defines “family responsibilities” as “actual or perceived provision of personal care to a family member.” “Personal care” is defined as “activities to ensure that a covered family member’s basic medical, hygiene, nutritional, or safety needs are met.”
The statute covers children, stepchildren, spouses, parents, stepparents, siblings, mother- or father-in-law, spouses/domestic partners, grandparents, or grandchildren.
What New York Law Says
New York City banned the practice nearly a decade ago. New York City’s ban, passed in late 2015, was an addition to the existing terms of the New York City Human Rights Law. The law prohibits employers from discriminating against parents of minor children (including adopted or foster children) if they “provide direct and ongoing care for that child.” It also protects workers who “provide direct and ongoing care to a parent, sibling, spouse, child (of any age), grandparent, or grandchild with a disability or a person with a disability who lives with them, and that person relies on them for medical care or to meet their needs of daily living.”
New York City’s law protects full- and part-time employees, interns, and most independent contractors, including documented and undocumented workers.
New York State’s ban has been in place even longer, taking effect on Jan. 19, 2015. The amended New York State Human Rights Law includes “familial status” as a protected characteristic for anti-discrimination purposes.
These amended laws do not require employers to change caregivers’ work shifts, allow them to leave work early, or offer remote work. However, if employers provide those opportunities to other non-caregiving workers, they cannot deny them to caregivers without potentially breaking the law.
Litigating Caregiver Discrimination Cases
Workers have begun asserting their rights under these laws, and courts have started clarifying what it means to meet the standards for caregiver discrimination. In 2020, a WIC counselor at a Coney Island hospital sued for caregiver discrimination following her termination. With COVID restrictions closing her kids’ schools and causing the loss of her childcare provider, the counselor asked to work remotely. While that request remained pending, the employer declared the counselor “AWOL” (absent without leave).
In rejecting the employer’s motion to end the case, the court determined that the employee had a potentially viable case. She alleged that she was “a mother of three minor children, was fully qualified for her position as a WIC counselor,” was capable of continuing “working in that capacity via remote means or another arrangement,” but was “declared AWOL and later terminated from her employment... a month after she submitted a formal complaint of caregiver status discrimination.”
The court said that was enough because the law did not require the mother to allege that the employer treated her adversely and differently to defeat her employer’s motion for summary judgment.
It is not always easy to see when your employer is discriminating against you because of your status as a caregiver. Almost no employers will say, “Congratulations on the impending birth of your child. We have decided to withdraw our offer of a promotion,” or “We are sorry to hear about your father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. You’re fired.” Typically, though, there are subtle clues that point to caregiver discrimination. These include things like letting your non-caregiver coworker leave work early (but refusing it when you need to pick up your child,) disparaging comments about adding to your family, or remarks about the impossibility of adequately fulfilling the roles of a caregiver and an employee at the same time.
If you have experienced some of those things or other events that you think sprung from a discriminatory motive, the dedicated New York caregiver discrimination attorneys at Phillips & Associates are here to help. Our team can review your situation and explain what options the law offers. Contact us online or at (833) 529-3476 to set up a free and confidential consultation.