Give Caregivers the Care They Deserve by Betsy Gotbaum
May 12th, 2008
Every year on Mother's Day I encourage sons and daughters to do something nice for their moms, like making them breakfast in bed or helping out with the household chores.
But this year, I say we give moms, and all caregivers, something more lasting: peace of mind, job security and the financial stability to care for loved ones all year round.
Caregivers need all the support we can give them. Governments across the country are finally beginning to address caregivers' struggle. In February, New Jersey joined California and Washington as the third state to pass legislation that provides paid family leave to caregivers. But New York State, so often on the forefront of innovative and progressive legislation, has yet to pass our bill, the Working Families Time to Care Act.
The number of working caregivers is overwhelming, and growing. In 2004, the National Alliance for Caregiving estimated that there are 44.4 million informal caregivers in America, and nearly 59 percent worked while providing care. In New York State alone there are 1.9 million people providing informal care to loved ones. Half of caregivers report they have had to make work-related adjustments in order to help take care of their loved ones.
With everything caregivers have to worry about, they also face the stress of potentially losing their job if they have to care for their sick parents or an ill child.
It happens because the New York City Human Rights Law protects against many classes of workplace discrimination—including discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, age, national origin, citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, partnership status and status as a victim of domestic violence—but noticeably absent is the category of caregiver.
Workplace discrimination against caregivers actually takes many forms. Working moms get assigned to “mommy track” jobs with lower pay; working dads get subjected to unfounded performance evaluations after they reveal they are caregivers.
That is why I introduced a bill in 2007, with Council Members Bill de Blasio (D-Brooklyn), Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan) and David Weprin (D-Queens), to give caregivers protection from workplace discrimination. The Caregiver Bill (Intro No. 565-A) would close a loophole in the NYC Human Rights Law and expressly protect working caregivers from employment discrimination.
In this context, the term “caregiver” applies to a person who provides ongoing care for a child for whom they have assumed parental responsibility, or a person who provides ongoing care to a family member or partner suffering disability or impairment.
The Caregiver bill prohibits employment discrimination based on an individual's actual or perceived status as a caregiver, adding caregivers to the list of protected classes and requiring that employers make reasonable accommodations to enable caregivers to perform and fulfill the requirements of their jobs.
One caregiver who called my office, Toni-Anne, was struggling to balance her job and her responsibility as a caregiver and mother to her 13-year-old autistic son. Toni-Anne fought to hang on to her job as her son's disease became more and more demanding, calling our office when she was ultimately fired from her job.
Toni-Anne is just one of nearly two million New Yorkers balancing the health care of their loved ones and their jobs. As the number of New Yorkers requiring care increases and the population of informal caregivers grows, the City's Human Rights Law must be amended to extend protection against employment discrimination to all New Yorkers who are actual or perceived caregivers.
Although New York City has some of the best anti-discrimination laws in the country, this is another example of where we have fallen sadly behind. The District of Columbia and Alaska have enacted legislation to expand protections in the workplace. And, in February of last year, both a Senate bill in California and a House bill in Pennsylvania were introduced that would prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of “familial status.”
This Mother's Day, let's show caregivers how much they mean to us with more than flowers. We need to support our hardworking caregivers by encouraging local representatives to pass the caregiver bill. Our moms, and all caregivers, deserve it.
But this year, I say we give moms, and all caregivers, something more lasting: peace of mind, job security and the financial stability to care for loved ones all year round.
Caregivers need all the support we can give them. Governments across the country are finally beginning to address caregivers' struggle. In February, New Jersey joined California and Washington as the third state to pass legislation that provides paid family leave to caregivers. But New York State, so often on the forefront of innovative and progressive legislation, has yet to pass our bill, the Working Families Time to Care Act.
The number of working caregivers is overwhelming, and growing. In 2004, the National Alliance for Caregiving estimated that there are 44.4 million informal caregivers in America, and nearly 59 percent worked while providing care. In New York State alone there are 1.9 million people providing informal care to loved ones. Half of caregivers report they have had to make work-related adjustments in order to help take care of their loved ones.
With everything caregivers have to worry about, they also face the stress of potentially losing their job if they have to care for their sick parents or an ill child.
It happens because the New York City Human Rights Law protects against many classes of workplace discrimination—including discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, age, national origin, citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, partnership status and status as a victim of domestic violence—but noticeably absent is the category of caregiver.
Workplace discrimination against caregivers actually takes many forms. Working moms get assigned to “mommy track” jobs with lower pay; working dads get subjected to unfounded performance evaluations after they reveal they are caregivers.
That is why I introduced a bill in 2007, with Council Members Bill de Blasio (D-Brooklyn), Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan) and David Weprin (D-Queens), to give caregivers protection from workplace discrimination. The Caregiver Bill (Intro No. 565-A) would close a loophole in the NYC Human Rights Law and expressly protect working caregivers from employment discrimination.
In this context, the term “caregiver” applies to a person who provides ongoing care for a child for whom they have assumed parental responsibility, or a person who provides ongoing care to a family member or partner suffering disability or impairment.
The Caregiver bill prohibits employment discrimination based on an individual's actual or perceived status as a caregiver, adding caregivers to the list of protected classes and requiring that employers make reasonable accommodations to enable caregivers to perform and fulfill the requirements of their jobs.
One caregiver who called my office, Toni-Anne, was struggling to balance her job and her responsibility as a caregiver and mother to her 13-year-old autistic son. Toni-Anne fought to hang on to her job as her son's disease became more and more demanding, calling our office when she was ultimately fired from her job.
Toni-Anne is just one of nearly two million New Yorkers balancing the health care of their loved ones and their jobs. As the number of New Yorkers requiring care increases and the population of informal caregivers grows, the City's Human Rights Law must be amended to extend protection against employment discrimination to all New Yorkers who are actual or perceived caregivers.
Although New York City has some of the best anti-discrimination laws in the country, this is another example of where we have fallen sadly behind. The District of Columbia and Alaska have enacted legislation to expand protections in the workplace. And, in February of last year, both a Senate bill in California and a House bill in Pennsylvania were introduced that would prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of “familial status.”
This Mother's Day, let's show caregivers how much they mean to us with more than flowers. We need to support our hardworking caregivers by encouraging local representatives to pass the caregiver bill. Our moms, and all caregivers, deserve it.
