Does providing benefits such as child care and elder care to some employees discriminate against those?

Question

Do businesses and government agencies have a duty to provide additional benefits to employees beyond fair pay and good working conditions? Does providing benefits such as child care and elder care to some employees discriminate against those who do not require such assistance?

Answer 1

Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, companies with 50 or more employees must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

-- for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee;
-- for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
-- to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
-- to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

Eligible employees are those who have been with the company on a full-time basis for at least a year.

Usually, employees may use paid vacation and sick leave days for part of the leave.

When the employee returns to work, the employer must be able to return him or her to his previous position, or to a comparable position within the company.

Does this discriminate against other employees? If you have no immediate family, are single, have no plans to marry or to have children, and are so healthy you will never become seriously ill, you might find it discriminatory.

Answer 2

Such reward are frequently provided at greater value to the employees. customarily, the business enterprise would not make contributions to such reward, yet extremely delivers the employees the reward of a collection decrease fee on such reward. So there's no real discrimination in touch.

Answer 3

god....are you kidding? do the other people want dog sitting benefits or something? do they feel left out because they don't have anything that's required to be taken care of while they work? i'll tell you what...if more companies did offer such things, it would make things a lot easier for a lot of people. considering everyone works now-a-days...

Answer 4

So, what are you saying - that unless a benefit provided by a company doesn't benefit every single employee, the employer shouldn't offer it? You work for HR, don't you?

Answer 5

Probably not discrimination so much as ignorance of an equitable benefit.

Answer 6

I don't think so.
it's an option ...additional benefits... provided hence the term of 'fringe' benefits.