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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 6, 2007
Contact: Gia Storms
Release #: 071-2007
212.669.4813; 917.626.6757
Gotbaum’s Caregiver Bill Receives Support from Unions, Advocates and Businesses
- Human Rights Law fails to protect New Yorkers who care for parents, children, loved ones –
MANHATTAN – The New York City Human Rights Law, one of the most comprehensive civil rights laws in the nation, fails to expressly protect New Yorkers caring for loved ones from discrimination in the workplace, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, union leaders and advocates charged today. Their remarks were made prior to a City Council General Welfare Committee hearing held to discuss legislation Gotbaum introduced to close the major loophole in the law and guarantee caregivers new protections from employment discrimination.
Gotbaum’s bill is being supported by the New York City Central Labor Council, the Working Families Party, DC1707, the United Federation of Teachers, A Better Balance, Council of Senior Centers and Services of New York City, Parent to Parent, New York Women’s Chamber of Commerce –representing nearly 1,000 women owned businesses, and other organizations, as well as and 21 Council Members, including Bill de Blasio and Gale Brewer. A 2004 National Alliance for Caregiving report found that more than 20 percent of Americans and nearly two million New Yorkers care for loved ones.
The bill was drafted in response to a call the Public Advocate received from a constituent who faced workplace discrimination as a result of his caregiver role. John Dallas became his mother’s full-time caregiver in 1999 after she was confined to a wheelchair as a result of diabetes. While working a full-time job, Mr. Dallas cooked for her, changed her diaper, took her blood pressure, and administered her insulin.
John Dallas said, “Employers and co-workers often told me that I should put Mom in a nursing home, and then gave me a lot of grief about leaving to care for her. That’s wrong. Caring for Mom was exhausting, but absolutely rewarding. Mom was able to live and die with dignity, knowing that her son was always there to protect her.
Public Advocate Gotbaum said, “New Yorkers caring for loved ones deserve our protection and support. They have enough to worry about – and that shouldn’t include losing their job because they care for their sick parents or ill child. This bill will make sure that all New Yorkers are protected from job discrimination and can fulfill their family responsibilities.”
The legislation will 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.
Ed Ott, Executive Director of the New York City Central Labor Council, said, "A family caregiver is often a valued worker who is in need of support of their own. Unlike many other forms of discrimination, workplace inequities against caregivers are often blatant. It is our hope in the labor movement that with the Public Advocate’s legislation, this situation will finally change, and caregivers will not be held to different standards than other workers."
Council Member Bill de Blasio, Chair of the City Council General Welfare Committee, said, “This bill gives all New Yorkers the peace of mind that they can care for their loved ones without the fear of discrimination. It is smart public policy, and it’s also the right thing to do.”
Sherry Leiwant from A Better Balance said, "Discrimination against workers with family responsibilities hurts those in our society struggling to both care and provide for their families. This is a family issue that affects all New Yorkers and we applaud efforts to ban this discrimination."
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