Family Responsibility Discrimination in California

Discrimination in the workplace is an important issue in California. People who have to take time off to address family responsibilities may find themselves particularly vulnerable to discrimination. Here is everything you need to know about family responsibility discrimination in California.

What Is Family Responsibility Discrimination?

Family responsibility discrimination (FRD) is employment discrimination that is based on workers’ responsibilities to care for their family members. While anyone with a job and family caregiving responsibilities can experience discrimination, women with children are most likely to encounter FRD; they are 79% less likely to be recommended for hire, 100% less likely to be promoted, and are typically offered at least $10,000 less in salary for the same position as a male in a similar situation.

What Qualifies As Family Responsibility Discrimination?

Some examples of FRD include:

Firing pregnant employees because they are pregnant or will take maternity leave
Failure to promote pregnant women or women with young children/ giving promotions to women without children or fathers instead of
more qualified women with children
Giving parents work schedules that they cannot meet for childcare reasons while giving nonparents flexible schedules
Fabricating work infractions or performance deficiencies to justify dismissal of employees with family responsibilities
Penalizing workers who have legally taken time off to care for aging parents
Promoting single men over engaged or married women for fear that they will become pregnant

What Are California’s Laws Against Family Responsibility Discrimination?

While California does not have a specific statute expressly prohibiting family responsibility discrimination, there are laws with special protection clauses for caregivers including:

California Labor Code § 1030
- This requires employees to provide special accommodations for lactating mothers to pump during work hours.
California Labor Code § 230.8
- This prohibits employers from discharging or discriminating in any way against employees who are parents and who take up to 40 hours of leave each year in order to:
  - Participate in a child’s school activity
  - Go to a child’s school for reasons such as suspension or expulsion

In addition to California state laws, there are a number of federal statutes that protect workers against discrimination of workers based on caregiving duties. These federal statutes include:

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- prohibits discrimination or retaliation against employees who have taken FMLA-protected leave to care for a family member, to give birth to a child, or to adopt a child.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
- prohibits discrimination based on pregnancies, plans to get pregnant, and/or childbirth.
Americans with Disabilities Act
- prohibits discrimination based on affiliation with a person who has disabilities. This is applicable in situations where an employee must care for a family member with a disability.
Equal Pay Act
- prohibits discrimination against an employee based on sex by paying employees of one sex less than employees of the opposite sex.

What If I Am A Victim of Family Responsibility Discrimination?

If you are a victim of discrimination, you can get a free consultation with one of our attorneys at Her Lawyer. An experienced employment lawyer can assess whether you have grounds to file a complaint on the basis of family responsibility discrimination.

Contact Her Lawyer

If your or a loved one has experienced family responsibility discrimination in California, get your free consultation with one of our California Employment Discrimination Attorneys today! We won’t charge you a dime unless you win your case.

Family Responsibility Discrimination in California