The guidance is intended to help in determining whether discrimination against employees with caregiving responsibilities is unlawful under federal law, says the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to the EEOC, the guidance “is not intended to create a new protected category but rather to illustrate circumstances under which stereotyping or other forms of disparate treatment may violate” federal civil rights law or the Americans with Disabilities Act. Examples include treating male employees with young children differently than females with young children; reassigning new mothers to less desirable projects than new fathers; refusing to hire a worker who has caregiving responsibilities.