New York domestic workers (mostly female nannies, maids, house cleaners and cooks) inhabit a workforce sphere where employment arrangements are made without contracts and employees -- 26 percent of whom live below the poverty line -- are frequently paid in cash. The roughly 200,000 domestic workers that keep New York families functioning also have to endure or worry about abuse by employers because they are excluded from basic legal protections guaranteed to other workers.
"The [New York] State Senate this week passed a bill that would require paid holidays, sick days and vacation days for domestic workers, along with overtime wages. It would require 14 days' notice, or termination pay, before firing a domestic worker."
Endorsed by 32BJ and 1199SEIU, the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (Bill S2311C) will provide an estimated 200,000 domestic workers--regardless of immigration status--with basic workplace guarantees that most of us take for granted. Although the legislation doesn't stipulate an hourly wage, it will allow workers to organize. This is huge, because it means for the first time, NY domestic workers will have some bargaining power.
The passing of this bill is such great news, but at the same time...we still have a long, long way to go. Historically, domestic workers have been completely excluded from the protection of federal and state labor laws--and with the exception of New York, many of these exclusions continue to exist in most U.S. states today. Hopefully, the passage of New York's Domestic Workers Bill of Rights will spur other states to pursue similar legislation to protect the basic rights and human dignity of domestic workers.
More about this landmark legislation at AP and the Huffington Post.
