Maine Women's Lobby

Family Caregiver Protection

Protections Denied ... But, the Campaign Continues!

As we reported last week, L.D. 962, An Act to Protect Family Caregivers was indefinitely postponed in the Senate. 

What now?

Well, we keep working. By working to pass this bill, we successfully continued the public education campaign begun with our support of paid sick days legislation. In other words, we furthered the conversation - with the legislature, our members, and the general public - that Maine's workplace policies must be brought up to date to meet the needs of our current workforce.

You've heard us say it before, and you'll hear us say it again: family values shouldn't end at the workplace door. 

We need our state laws to value families by protecting all caregivers from discrimination AND by guaranteeing every worker access to paid sick days to care for themselves and their families.

Throughout this summer and fall, we will be reaching out to our members and supporters and asking YOU to get involved in our campaign to update workplace policies. 

Finally, a big "thank you" to all of you who placed calls to your legislators and sent letters to your local papers. We couldn't have made it this far without your efforts!

PS: Did you know that you can now peruse our past e-newsletters and action alerts directly from our web site? It's a great way to get the history of this bill, as well as what else we've been working on.

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Scroll down to trace the process of the bill:

Call Your Senator Today!

Contact your Senator today at 1-800-423-6900 and ask them to support the "ought to pass as amended" committee report for L.D. 962, "An Act To Protect Family Caregivers."

Here's the scoop:

At the Maine Women's Lobby, we believe that no hard-working Mainer should have to choose between their job and their family responsibilities. However, in Maine there are no legal protections for caregivers. This means that a worker with family obligations can be denied a position, fired, or refused a promotion due to perceptions of their commitments at home.

Family values shouldn't end at the workplace door.

L.D. 962, "An Act To Protect Family Caregivers," will help to protect family caregivers from discrimination.

Your Senator needs to hear from you now! Call 1-800-423-6900 and ask them to support L.D. 962.

PS: Corporate Lobbyists are spreading misinformation so we want to make sure you get the real truth:
This legislation seeks to improve protections and reduce a form of discrimination that has increased 400% over the last ten years. It will make Maine a more attractive place for workers and will help businesses hire and retain the most qualified and skilled employees, instead of losing them to out-dated stereotypes and discrimination. Furthermore, cases of family caregiver discrimination are now being tried under a patchwork of existing protections, making the law confusing for not only workers who are victims, but employers as well.  By passing this bill, we make the law clearer - thus reducing expensive lawsuits. Just like when we passed employment protections for gays and lesbians in our human rights act, employers didn't experience an overwhelming influx of claims.  That's because when you recognize a stereotype by making it illegal discrimination decreases.

Read our most recent action alert on this bill.

Check out previous action alerts on Family Caregiver Protection.

Judiciary Committee Votes "Ought to Pass as Amended" on
Caregiver Protection Bill! (April 16, 2009)

The amendment is "This Act may not be construed to create a right to accommodations for family caregivers" as well as re-aligning the definition of family member with that used in Maine Family Medical Leave Act. Here's the definition used in our FMLA statute. It adds child of a domestic partner to family members covered, it defines domestic partner, and it clarifies that siblings must be living together and sharing joint financial arrangements.

Judiciary Committee Poised to Vote on
Caregiver Protection Bill (April 9, 2009)

Here's the scoop:

At the Maine Women's Lobby, we believe that no hard-working Mainer should have to choose between their job and their family responsibilities. However, in Maine there are no legal protections for caregivers. This means that a worker with family obligations can be denied a position, fired or refused a promotion due to perceptions of their commitments at home.

Family values shouldn't end at the workplace door.

L.D. 962, "An Act To Protect Family Caregivers," will likely see a vote from the Judiciary Committee this Wednesday, April 15, and members of the Judiciary Committee need to hear from YOU.

Here's what you can do:

If your Legislator is a member of the Judiciary Committee, they need to hear from you now! Give them a call (click on their name for contact information). Tell them you are a voter in their district (give them your name, address, and phone number), and ask them to support L.D. 962, "An Act To Protect Family Caregivers."

Not sure about your Legislator? We can hook you up! Committee assignments and contact information are listed. You can either call them at home, or leave a message for them at the State House - both numbers are listed. If you choose to leave a message for them on the message line, make sure you specify who the message is for and your name, address, and phone number. Ask them to support L.D. 962, "An Act To Protect Family Caregivers."

Another great way to send a message to your Legislator is to place a letter in your local paper - and we can help you. Contact Charlotte for help in writing and placing a letter - it will take less than 15 minutes! You can also call Charlotte at 622.0851, ext. 24.

Family Values at Work (March 27, 2009)

Workers with family responsibilities shouldn't fear discrimination on the job. Today in Maine we have workers who are faced with a terrible bind. Many are experiencing increased economic pressure as well as increased caregiving responsibilities at home.

What is Family Responsibilities Discrimination? FRD happens when an employee is unfairly penalized at work because of perceptions in the workplace around his or her obligations to provide care for family members. A victim of discrimination may be fired, underpaid or passed over for promotion, have her hours or responsibilities reduced, or her benefits denied.

L.D. 692, "An Act To Protect Family Caregivers," will go a long way to protect Maine workers - and families - from this kind of discrimination. The Maine Women's Lobby is working toward passage of this bill, but we need your help. Read more about "An Act To Protect Family Caregivers."

Have you experienced Family Responsibilities Discrimination? Contact Charlotte at 622.0851, ext. 24, or cwarren@mainewomen.org, to share your story.