The AARP Public Policy Institute has just issued a report entitled "Protecting Family Caregivers from Employment Discrimination," and it claims that there is an “emerging trend” of caregivers of older adults facing increasing discrimination in the workplace.

An aging population must work at paid jobs, and also work without pay providing care for elderly parents and other family members, and are, according to the report, treated disparately in the paid workplace. The evidence of discrimination? “It may take the form of limited flexibility, denied leave, or even a pink slip, but whatever the case, more instances of employers treating employees with caregiving responsibilities less favorably than other employees are coming to our attention.”
 

The report cites compelling statistics of an aging workforce struggling to also care for elderly family members: The average American family caregiver is female, 49-years old, works outside the home, and spends almost 20 hours a week providing care for her mother. Moreover, 49 percent of the workforce expects to provide eldercare within five years.
 

With stats like that, we may reasonably expect an increase in lobbying efforts to prohibit “family responsibilities discrimination” in the workplace.