| Releases
& Statements
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 20, 2007
Contact: John Collins, Press Secretary
(212) 669-4193; (917) 496-4587
Release #: 016-2007
Public
Advocate Gotbaum Introduces Bill to Protect Caregivers from Job
Discrimination
- 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 protect New Yorkers
caring for loved ones from discrimination in the workplace, Public
Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said today. To close the major loophole
in the law, Public Advocate Gotbaum introduced legislation to
guarantee caregivers new protections from employment discrimination.
Public
Advocate Gotbaum was joined by John Dallas, who faced discrimination
while he cared for his ill mother, Sherry Leiwant of A Better
Balance and representatives from the Working Families Party to
support the new caregiver protections. 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.
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 love their parents or their children. This bill will
make sure that all New Yorkers are protected from job discrimination
and can fulfill their family responsibilities.”
The
new legislation, co-sponsored by Council Members Bill de Blasio,
David Weprin and Gail Brewer, 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.
John
Dallas became his mother’s full-time caregiver in 1999 after
she was confined to a wheel chair 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.”
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."
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.”
Public
Advocate Gotbaum is also working to pass the Working Families
Time to Care Act, a State insurance program that will guarantee
employees 50 percent of their salary, up to $170 a week, for up
to 12 weeks in cases where an employee needs to care for a sick
child, parent or other dependent.
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