What's New

WLL and Sloan Work &
Family Research Network release research on state
FRD legislation
The brief, Addressing Family Responsibilities Discrimination, describes state policy efforts to address family responsibilities discrimination (FRD), including why FRD is a policy matter and how FRD negatively impacts both employees and their employers.
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FRD trainings available WorkLife Law has a variety of training materials and can work with you to provide trainings tailored to your organization's or company's needs.

EEOC issues guidance on Caregiver Discrimination
The EEOC issued enforcement guidance about caregiver discrimination, which is another name for Family Responsibilities Discrimination. The guidance, which contains examples of personnel actions that the EEOC would consider discriminatory...
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Pregnant woman wins $2.3 million
A delivery driver informed her employer that she was pregnant and within an hour found herself placed on involuntary and unpaid medical leave because her employer thought she could not do her job.
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WLL in the News

Kathy Borchers,"No Kidding...It's Tougher for Moms," The Providence Journal, October 12, 2008

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Upcoming Events

March 21, 2009
"9to5 National Association of Working Women Fifth Annual Regional Leadership Conference," San Jose, CA (Stephanie Bornstein)

April 1-4, 2009
"ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, National Conference on Equal Employment Opportunity Law," Orlando, FL (Joan Williams)

April 2, 2009
"New Jersey Science & Technology University's Work-Life Policy Workshop," Newark, NJ (Joan Williams)

April 3, 2009
"Yale Women's Faculty Forum," New Haven, CT (Joan Williams)

April 4, 2009
"NALP's 2009 Annual Education Conference," Washington, DC (Cynthia Calvert and Linda Bray Chanow)

April 29-May 1, 2009
"Center for Women in Law, University of Texas School of Law's Women's Power Summit on Law & Leadership," Austin, TX (Joan Williams)

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• firing or demoting employees when they become pregnant; 
• passing over highly qualified mothers for hire or promotion in favor of less qualified fathers or women without children;
• firing employees without valid business reasons when they return from maternity or paternity leave;
• denying flexibility to employees who want it for child care reasons, while allowing flexibility to employees for non-family reasons (e.g., to participate on a sports team);
• firing employees whose spouses or elderly parents become disabled for fear of increased absenteeism or higher health insurance premiums; and
• fabricating work infractions or performance deficiencies to justify dismissal of employees with family responsibilities. 

The Center for WorkLife Law (WorkLife Law or WLL) is a nonprofit research and advocacy group with a unique “six stakeholder” model that reflects our belief that many different stakeholders are ready, willing, and able to play a role in sparking social and organizational change around work/life issues. WorkLife Law works with employees, employers, plaintiffs’ employment lawyers, management-side employment lawyers, unions, and public policymakers, to educate each group about the prevalence of family responsibilities discrimination, and to develop effective measures to eliminate FRD. WLL also works with social scientists to spark interdisciplinary studies of bias against caregivers, and works extensively with the press.

WorkLife Law is housed at the University of California Hastings College of the Law. WLL's work is made possible through generous support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The Rockefeller Family Fund, The Wallace A. Gerbode Foundation, the Women's Bar Association of D.C. Foundation, Abigail Disney, and the University of California Hastings College of the Law.