“Eldercare litigation: The new fault line,” by Sheryl Smolkin, Employee Benefit News

“As the number of employees that care for sick or aging parents increases, so do their claims of employer discrimination. A 2016 Family Responsibilities Discrimination Litigation Update from the University of California Hastings College of the Law documents a 650% jump in litigation involving eldercare during the previous decade. There is no one overarching federal law that protects employees with eldercare responsibilities. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, however, an employee who has worked for a government employer or a private employer with more than 50 employees for at least 12 months, may take up to 12 unpaid weeks of leave to care for a parent with has a serious health condition.”

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
Leaving aside the questions of whether or not government should compel employers to grant three months of unpaid leave to caregivers and whether or not employers actually comply with the rule, more people having LTCI would reduce the problem. Unfortunately, consumers may be marginally less likely to purchase LTCI if they believe they have this benefit. This is yet another way public policy inadvertently discourages the LTCI market by trying to help people in other ways. Easy access to Medicaid after the insurable event has occurred is the big one of course.

Eldercare litigation: The new fault line

#goldencareagent
#eldercare