Resources for Businesses
Resources for employers to understand and assist employees manage their caregiving responsibilities. Information found here can help employers reduce costs, increase productivity and employee loyalty.
EEOC Releases New Guidance on Caregivers |Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP | April 13, 2022
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released new guidance on caregivers, addressing potential issues that could result in discrimination claims against employers based on caregiver responsibilities.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Caregiver Discrimination Under Federal Employment Discrimination Law technical assistance document explained that although “caregiver” is not a protected status, workers and applicants with caregiving responsibilities may have rights under other laws, and in the post-COVID-19 workplace, many employees are seeking more flexible arrangements for caregiving purposes. Read the article
Updated Edition
New York State Caregiver Guide for Businesses
Caregiving—including care of elderly persons who are frail and dependent—has always been a primary function of the family. Today this function has assumed new significance because more women have entered the workplace. Childcare and eldercare issues have become important workplace issues as employees strive to balance work and family caregiving responsibilities.
The process of balancing work and family can be stressful, as many as 10 percent to 31 percent of working caregivers leave their jobs as a result of caregiving responsibilities—some elect to retire early; others quit working altogether. Most working caregivers, however, make workplace accommodations and try their best to create a balance between work and caregiving responsibilities.
Nearly 75 percent of adults currently shouldering elder care responsibilities have been in the workforce (either on a part-time or a full-time basis) at some point in their caregiving experience. Of those currently employed, about 1 in 6 workers are providing care to one or more elderly or disabled adult family members, relatives or friends. Importantly, these caregivers do not abandon their caregiving responsibilities because of work. Instead, they cope as best they can to balance conflicting sets of responsibilities. This balance is difficult to maintain, and often impacts both caregiver and the employer. The magnitude of missed work from the employer’s standpoint translates into an estimated loss of 120 million workdays each year, and the equivalent of $25.2 billion in lost productivity.
NYSCRC invites you consider these steps, at no cost to you.
· An educational presentation for senior and middle management on the role of caregivers in your workplace, what it means for the caregiver and the company.
· Implementation of a “Caregivers in the Workplace Survey”.
· Review of the survey results
· Exploration of options to support caregivers in your organization
For more information Contact Doris Green at 585-287-6393 or by Email
In the first article of its new Spotlight series, Social Innovations in Caregiving, the National Alliance for Caregiving details the hardships the COVID-19 crisis magnified for millions of working caregivers and explores the mismatch between what family caregivers need to meet the demands of working while caregiving and what benefits and supports employers offer. “The pandemic has exposed the reality that working Americans must too often choose between caring for loved ones and holding onto their jobs,” says Grace Whiting, President, and CEO of NAC.
Offering potential solutions on how employers can address this mismatch, NAC advances recommendations for workplace policies and practices that employers can provide to caregivers. These recommendations include flextime, compressed workweeks, and public policy strategies to help reinforce workplace solutions such as redefined paid leave criteria.
How Employers and States Can Support the Essential Workforce of Family
Nearly two-thirds of family caregivers maintain full- or part-time employment. Working caregivers often face challenges including needing to arrive late to work, leave early, take time off to provide care, or even quit their job or retire early, which can lead to significant financial strain. Individuals trying to balance family caregiving and employment often report elevated stress, as many devote numerous hours to care and daily living tasks for their loved one. When family caregivers have benefits like paid sick days, flexible work hours, and paid family leave, they are more likely to continue working. Family caregivers who feel their employer supports their well-being also report higher job satisfaction. A 2021 AARP analysis found that if employers and state governments bolster supports for working family caregivers who are age 50 and older, not only would worker productivity increase, but the U.S. gross domestic product could grow by as much as $1.7 trillion by 2030.
In this editorial in the American Journal of Health Promotion, authors from the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) and The John A. Hartford Foundation share strategies for how employers and states can support employees with caregiving responsibilities through flexible workplace policies, tools, and resources. It features resources from two states participating in CHCS’ Helping States Support Families Caring for an Aging America initiative.
How Employers Can Flatten the Caregiver Crisis Curve
Benefits Pro | January 27, 2021 | Grace Whiting, Jennifer Olsen, Adam Goldberg and Carolyn Romano
"In order to change this conversation, we have to move caregiving from a bedroom issue to a government or boardroom issue."
"Long before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19, millions of U.S. workers were already buckling under the strains of working full-time in their jobs while juggling the demands of providing care for a child with special needs or aging parents or in many cases both. In fact, according to the Caregiving in the US report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, there are an estimated 53 million caregivers in the United States, up from the estimated 43.5 million caregivers in 2015. The pandemic has only increased the crisis workers were already facing. According to the Torchlight Report of Working Caregiver Concerns, employees are self-reporting a 35.5% rise in anxiety and depression since mid-March 2020 as they juggle their work lives and families." Read the Full Article
Wired for Care: The New Face of Caregiving in America | CAMBIA Health Solutions
A study by CAMBIA Health Solutions examined several major dimensions of caregiving today; the emotional impact of caregiving and where people with these responsibilities need help, how caregiving responsibilities impact workplace stress and satisfaction, what caregivers want in digital resources, and barriers to adoption. Read the full study here