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Protecting Caregivers
Introduced by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, the NYC Caregiver Bill (Int. 565-A) would amend the NYC Human Rights Law to expressly prohibit employment discrimination based on an individual’s actual or perceived status as a caregiver.
The legislation would add an individual’s status as a caregiver to the New York City Human Rights Law. The law currently prohibits discrimination based on characteristics such as: age, race, color, gender, disability, sexual orientation and marital and partnership status and status as a victim of domestic violence
According to estimates from a 2008 AARP brief, nearly two million New Yorkers in the state provide unpaid care for a relative or friend, and over 50% of them balance caregiving with a full-time job. As the population of caregivers expands, there is an increasing need to establish protections against workplace discrimination
Public Advocate Gotbaum pursued the bill after her office received a call from John Dallas, a constituent who said potential employers told him that he would not be hired due to his status as a caregiver. Mr. Dallas became his mother’s full-time caregiver in 1999 after she was confined to a wheelchair as a result of diabetes. While pursuing several jobs, Mr. Dallas cooked for his mother, changed her diaper, took her blood pressure, and administered her insulin. Read More.
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