By Evan Lange
Being a caregiver is not, by itself, a protected category under federal or Texas law. But caregiver discrimination is often illegal anyway. Title VII prohibits decisions based on sex stereotypes, such as assuming mothers are less committed or refusing fathers the leave mothers get. The ADA prohibits discrimination because of your association with a family member who has a disability. And the FMLA gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to care for a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition, with protection against retaliation for using it.
You were passed over for a promotion right after your manager learned you were caring for your mother. You were told the new role “needs someone without small kids.” You were fired after asking for time off for your son’s surgery. These situations happen every day in Houston workplaces, and many of them break federal law, even though “caregiver” isn’t a word you’ll find in the statutes.
The EEOC’s guidance on workers with caregiving responsibilities explains that treating a caregiver worse because of assumptions about gender is sex discrimination. Examples:
Treating all parents equally badly is not sex discrimination, but treating mothers and fathers differently can be. Learn more about gender discrimination in Texas.
The Americans with Disabilities Act makes it illegal for employers with 15 or more employees to discriminate against you because of your association with someone who has a disability, such as a child with autism or a parent with dementia. It is illegal to:
The ADA’s duty to provide reasonable accommodations, like a schedule change, applies to employees with their own disability. It doesn’t require an employer to accommodate your caregiving schedule, but it does require you be held to the same rules as everyone else.
The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition, or to bond with a new child. You’re generally eligible if:
It is illegal to interfere with FMLA leave or retaliate against you for taking it. See our FMLA guide for Texas and whether you can be fired while on FMLA leave.
Pregnancy discrimination is sex discrimination under Title VII, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions. New mothers also have the right to break time and a private space to pump at work. Texas has no state paid family leave law; read more about maternity leave in Texas.
Caregiver status is not a protected category by itself, but caregiver discrimination is often illegal under Title VII when based on sex stereotypes, under the ADA when based on association with a family member with a disability, and under the FMLA when it involves leave.
If you are eligible for FMLA leave, your employer cannot fire you for taking protected leave to care for a parent with a serious health condition. If you are not eligible, you may still be protected if the firing was based on your association with a parent who has a disability.
If the decision is based on stereotypes about mothers or fathers, such as assuming a mother won’t travel, it may be sex discrimination under Title VII.
Generally no. The ADA’s accommodation duty covers your own disability, not a family member’s. But your employer cannot treat you worse than coworkers because of your caregiving or sex, and FMLA leave may be available.
Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period, or up to 26 weeks to care for a covered servicemember.
The Lange Firm represents employees in Houston and across Texas. Attorney Evan Lange can review what happened and whether it was illegal workplace discrimination or FMLA retaliation.
Related: Military leave and USERRA: job rights for service members and their families
Caring for your family shouldn’t cost you your career.
The law can help make sure it doesn’t.
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