Question

In the article “Will working mothers take your company to court,” the authors note that working mothers “have become more likely to sue their employers for discrimination, and juries increasingly inclined to award them large settlements if gender bias appears to have played a role in derailing their careers. A new field of employment law, family responsibilities discrimination, is taking off.” The authors recommend that companies should educate themselves and their employees about the law, work to eliminate any stigma associated with flextime in the office, and set clear policies about family responsibilities discrimination. The authors recommend which of the following actions to implement a policy against family responsibility discrimination?

Amend the anti-discrimination policy so that family responsibilities are added to the list of protected classes.

Make sure that if "maternal wall bias" exists, the company should ensure that an equivalent level of "paternal wall bias" also exists.

Implement training so that maternity is taken into account in performance evaluations, ensuring that performance evaluation criteria are lowered for pregnant women or women who have recently given birth.

Ensure that employees without children understand that they must "pick up the slack" (e.g., by taking on more tasks) for those who do have family responsibilities.

Implement a policy to "disincentivize" those who transition to part-time schedules, so that women will be less likely to resort to part-time work when they have children.

Answer 1

Answer: Option A

Explanation: In the article “Will working mothers take your company to court,” the authors note that working mothers “have become more likely to sue their employers for discrimination, and juries increasingly inclined to award them large settlements if gender bias appears to have played a role in derailing their careers. A new field of employment law, family responsibilities discrimination, is taking off.” The authors recommend that companies should educate themselves and their employees about the law, work to eliminate any stigma associated with flextime in the office, and set clear policies about family responsibilities discrimination.

The authors recommend amending the anti-discrimination policy so that family responsibilities are added to the list of protected classes.