City Hall – Last week, Councilman Simcha Felder joined Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum as well as various groups and lawmakers on the steps of City Hall calling for legislation that would add caregivers to the list of those protected against employment discrimination in the New York City Human Rights Law.

“Caregivers are among the hardest working and most selfless individuals in the city,” said Councilman Felder. “No one deserves to be discriminated against, and especially not if it’s on account of taking care of their family, of their loved ones.”

Caregivers have become an increasingly large part of the workforce. In 2008, the AARP reported that nearly two million New Yorkers provide unpaid care for a relative or friend, and that more than half of these caregivers also work full-time jobs.

“Under the current law, New Yorkers can be punished by employers for caring for their loved ones. This loophole must be closed, and employment discrimination stopped,” said Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, “As baby boomers retire in greater numbers, the children of baby boomers will increasingly be caring both for their own children and for their aging parents. We need to act now, before the problem gets worse.”

The proposed bill, Int. 565, has support from 33 City Council members and a number of groups ranging from the Children’s Health Fund, to the Working Families Party, to the New York City Central Labor Council.

(YWN Desk – NYC)