The Center’s Deputy Director, Liz Morris, testified before the California State Assembly’s Labor and Employment Committee in support of the Bill AB 1119, which would make it illegal for California employers to discriminate against workers with family responsibilities.
While Family Responsibilities Discrimination is nothing new, its harmful impacts have been on clear display during the pandemic as schools and care facilities became unavailable. Every day on our COVID legal helpline, we hear from workers in crisis – struggling to care for their loved ones while maintaining the paying jobs they need to survive. Mothers, in particular, have been devastated, with the harshest impacts on women of color, single mothers, and workers in low-paying jobs.
As our recent report shows, nearly 30% of the American workforce is already protected by a state or local law that prohibits discrimination against employees with caregiving responsibilities. However, California workers are left out.
As Liz says, “AB 1119 is imperative for California’s economic recovery. It will ensure family caregivers – typically women – are able to participate fully in the workforce. Fulfilling family responsibilities is not a private frolic. It is the hard and necessary work of caring for the elderly and people with disabilities, and raising the next generation of workers that will keep our economy running.”
Read the full WorkLife Law statement on AB 1119 and watch Liz’s testimony here (2:26:45): https://www.assembly.ca.gov/media/assembly-labor-employment-committee-20210408/video