STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – October 20, 2026 – Timothy Lubniewski is encouraging employers to look beyond the dates on a résumé when evaluating professionals who have stepped away from the workforce to care for a family member.
Lubniewski knows the experience personally. After decades spent building and managing businesses, he resigned from his position as general manager at Rose Paving to become the primary caregiver for his wife, Kathryn “KC” Lubniewski, who is living with ALS. At the same time, he is raising their two young sons, Andrew and Robert.
The decision created something that may eventually appear straightforward on a résumé: a period away from paid employment. Lubniewski says the reality behind that space is anything but simple.
“When I stepped away from work, I did not step away because I had stopped caring about my career,” Lubniewski said. “My wife needed me, and our boys were five and six. There really was not much debate in my mind about where I needed to be. I had spent years being responsible for businesses and employees. At that point, my biggest responsibility was at home.”
Lubniewski believes employers should become more comfortable asking what happened during a career gap rather than immediately treating the gap itself as a concern.
Family Caregiving Is Increasingly Common
Career interruptions related to caregiving affect a significant portion of the workforce. The 2025 Caregiving in the U.S. report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving estimated that 63 million American adults provide ongoing care for an adult or child with a complex medical condition or disability. That represents nearly one in four adults in the United States.
The report also found that six in ten caregivers were employed while providing care, illustrating how closely work and caregiving responsibilities can overlap. For some families, however, the demands of care can eventually require reduced hours, schedule changes, leaves of absence, or a complete departure from paid employment.
Lubniewski argues that employers risk overlooking experienced candidates when they assume time away from a formal position is the same as professional disengagement.
“A résumé can tell you when somebody worked somewhere, but it cannot always tell you why they left,” he said. “There is a big difference between losing interest in responsibility and making a difficult decision because your family needs you.”
A Different Kind of Responsibility
Lubniewski started his first construction company at 23 and went on to own and operate Stream-N-Stone Inc., Paving Arts Corp., and Paving Associates. His career required him to coordinate employees, customers, schedules, projects, budgets, and the unexpected problems that accompany running a business.
His company was eventually sold to private-equity-backed Rose Paving, where he later served as a general manager.
Caregiving has required a very different routine.
Instead of crews, projects, and customer needs competing for his attention, Lubniewski now manages family schedules, medical appointments, household responsibilities, and the needs of two young children while caring for his wife.
He is careful not to suggest that caregiving and executive work are interchangeable. They are not. He does, however, believe that time spent caregiving can develop qualities that remain relevant when someone eventually returns to work.
“I used to have days when several business problems would land on my desk at once, and I had to decide what actually needed an answer first,” Lubniewski said. “At home, the circumstances are completely different, but prioritizing still matters. You learn very quickly that you cannot treat every problem like it has the same level of urgency.”
Communication, adaptability, organization, patience, and decision-making can all remain active during a period away from traditional employment.
Employers Can Ask Better Questions
Lubniewski believes hiring managers can take a straightforward approach when they encounter a career gap.
Instead of beginning with an assumption that the candidate has fallen behind, employers can ask what prompted the time away, what responsibilities the person carried during that period, and how they are preparing to return.
Candidates should also be given room to explain the experience without feeling that they must apologize for it.
“Someone may have spent a year caring for a parent with dementia, helping a spouse through cancer, or raising a child with serious medical needs,” Lubniewski said. “That does not erase the ten or twenty years of experience they had before it.”
He also encourages professionals returning from caregiving to be direct about their experience rather than trying to hide an understandable period away from work.
A career is rarely as orderly as a résumé makes it appear. Businesses are sold. Industries change. Children are born. Parents age. People become ill. Employees relocate, reconsider their priorities, or temporarily step away because life demands their attention somewhere else.
Looking Beyond the Gap
Lubniewski expects work to become part of his life again, although he is not rushing to define exactly what that next chapter will look like. For now, his focus remains on his wife and sons.
His experience has nevertheless changed the way he thinks about people who return to the workforce after substantial family responsibilities.
Earlier in his career, he often evaluated people based on what they could contribute to a team or operation. Today, he says he would be more interested in understanding the story behind an unconventional career path.
“I know what I accomplished before I stepped away, and that experience did not disappear when I left my position,” Lubniewski said. “If anything, this period of my life has made me think differently about responsibility, people, and what somebody may be carrying outside of work.”
For employers, that can be a useful reminder.
A blank space between two jobs may say very little about someone’s ambition, ability, or commitment. Sometimes it represents one of the most demanding responsibilities that person has ever accepted.
About Timothy Lubniewski
Timothy Lubniewski is an entrepreneur and experienced business leader from Staten Island, New York. He began his first construction company at age 23 and went on to build and operate several businesses in the paving and property maintenance industry, including Stream-N-Stone Inc., Paving Arts Corp., and Paving Associates. Following the sale of his company to private-equity-backed Rose Paving, he served as a general manager with the organization. Lubniewski later stepped away from his executive career to become the primary caregiver for his wife, KC, while raising their two young sons. His interests include business, skilled trades, baseball, golf, gardening, family, and philanthropy.
Media ContactCompany Name: Timothy LubniewskiContact Person: Media RelationsEmail: Send EmailCity: Staten IslandState: New YorkCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://www.timothylubniewski.com/
