Federal anti-discrimination law currently does not explicitly include as a protected class “caregivers,” i.e., employees or applicants who take time to care for children, parents, or other family members. Although “caregivers” may have rights under such laws as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), there is no federal protection solely on the basis of “caregiver status.”
Over the last several years, as work-family issues have become more prominent, advocates have been arguing for legal protection for applicants and employees on the basis of their caregiver responsibilities. And while there has been no concerted effort to change federal law to protect caregivers thus far, a number of local jurisdictions, including most recently New York City, now have laws that specifically protect caregivers.
New York City’s new caregiver law was signed on January 5, 2016 and will go into effect in early May of this year. It treats “caregivers” as an identified class protected from employment discrimination. It also prohibits discrimination against those who are perceived as caregivers. The new law broadly defines caregiver by giving an expansive reading to the universe of people to whom the person may be providing care, and will apply to any city employer with four or more employees.