Partner Joshua Zuckerberg, a member of Pryor Cashman’s Labor and Employment Group, was interviewed by Human Resource Executive for its October 2, 2010 article “Un-Family-Friendly – Unfair Treatment Of Workers With Family Responsibilities Can Lead To Costly Lawsuits And A Disgruntled Workforce.” 

Zuckerberg told Human Resource Executive that, despite numerous decision and EEOC regulations finding with discrimination against workers with family responsibilities and awarding damages and other relief, there is “no city, state or federal law that says that you cannot discriminate against caregivers.” However, by discriminating against a caregiver, companies end up breaking other equal-opportunity laws. 
Mistreatment of caregivers can also fall into cases of gender-discrimination. For example, thinking that a woman who has just had a child won’t be as committed or productive after she returns would be considered a discriminatory presumption. “Thinking that maybe they won’t be taking the business trip or they won't put in the extra hours is an unfair and discriminatory presumption. It is a presumption that is generally not made about men.” 

According to Zuckerberg, the best way to stay on the right side of the law is for companies to make sure personnel decisions are about the work – not the employee's family situation. “Any decision should be documented to make sure it's objective and not based on subjective feelings or stereotypes or presumptions,” he says. 

To read the article, please click here.