Image: AnnaStills/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffIn guidance that applies to federal agencies as well as private sector employers covered by the Civil Rights Act, the EEOC has cautioned that the law bars discrimination based on caregiving status, an issue that it said has come to greater prominence during the pandemic.
“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, even if the employer’s decisions are well-intentioned. 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 increase,” the EEOC said.
“It also would be unlawful for an employer to refuse to promote a woman based on assumptions that, because she was female, she would focus primarily on caring for her children while they quarantined or attended school remotely,” it said.
The updated guidance is at www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws#I
Workplace Protocols Further Loosened, but Little Further Word on ‘Reentry’
VA Restructuring Plan Would Change Footprint, Focus
VA Facilities Proposal Also Seeks Recruitment, Retention Authorities
Rules Coming on Consideration of Prior Salaries in Pay Setting, Says OPM
USPS Moves to Loosen Some Ethics Rules for Employees
Guidance: New, Updated Guidance Issued on Workplace Safety Measures
Biden Signs Bill Funding Agencies Through Rest of Fiscal Year
