Bill Text: CA ACR163 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Domestic worker rights.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 23-0)
Status: (Passed) 2010-09-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 119, Statutes of 2010. [ACR163 Detail]
Download: California-2009-ACR163-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: ACR 163 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 119
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2010
ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 23, 2010
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 28, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 16, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members V. Manuel Perez and Ammiano
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Charles Calderon, Coto, De La Torre,
De Leon, Furutani, Hernandez, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, Salas, Saldana,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Torrico, and Yamada)
(Coauthors: Senators Cedillo, Ducheny, Florez, Negrete McLeod, and
Romero)
APRIL 28, 2010
Relative to domestic worker rights.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 163, V. Manuel Perez. Domestic worker rights.
This measure would encourage greater protections in federal and
state law for domestic workers.
WHEREAS, California's domestic workers--comprised of housekeepers,
nannies, and caregivers for children, persons with disabilities, and
the elderly--work in private households to care for the health,
safety, and well-being of the most important aspects of Californians'
lives, their families and homes; and
WHEREAS, Domestic workers play a critical role in California's
economy, working to ensure the health and prosperity of California
families and freeing others to participate in the workforce, which is
increasingly necessary in these difficult economic times; and
WHEREAS, Domestic workers across the state of California have
joined together to form the California Domestic Workers' Coalition to
achieve social and economic justice and secure much-needed
protections for domestic workers under California's labor laws; and
WHEREAS, The National Domestic Workers Alliance is organizing
domestic workers across the United States to end the exclusion of
domestic workers from federal labor protections, and the
International Domestic Workers Network, made up of domestic worker
organizations across the world, has formed to fight exploitation and
abuse by creating and advancing international standards in the
industry; and
WHEREAS, The treatment of domestic service workers under federal
and state laws has historically reflected stereotypical assumptions
about the nature of domestic work, specifically that the relationship
between employer and "servant" was "personal," rather than
commercial, in character; that employment within a household was not
"real" productive work; and that women did not work to support their
families; and
WHEREAS, The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 201
et seq.), which Congress enacted to ensure a fair day's pay for a
fair day's work, excluded domestic workers from its protection at a
time when 60% of African American women workers were employed as
domestic workers; and
WHEREAS, The vast majority of domestic workers are women of color
and immigrants who, because of race and sex discrimination and fear
of deportation, are particularly vulnerable to unlawful employment
practices and abuses; and
WHEREAS, Domestic workers usually work alone, behind closed doors,
and out of the public eye, leaving them isolated, vulnerable to
abuse and exploitation, and unable to advocate collectively for
better working conditions; and
WHEREAS, Domestic workers often labor under harsh conditions, work
long hours for low wages without benefits or job security, and face
termination without notice or severance pay, leaving many suddenly
without both a job and a home; and
WHEREAS, Most domestic workers work to support families and
children of their own and more than half are primary income earners,
yet two-thirds of domestic workers earn low wages or wages below the
poverty line; and
WHEREAS, Many live-in domestic workers are not permitted to make
basic decisions regarding the food they eat or to cook or heat their
meals; and
WHEREAS, In the worst cases, domestic workers are verbally and
physically abused or sexually assaulted, forced to sleep in
conditions unfit for human habitation, and stripped of their privacy
and dignity; and
WHEREAS, Many employers desire to treat their caregivers and
housekeepers fairly, but do not have the information to guide them in
setting terms of employment, and may never develop a formal contract
or clearly establish the rights and obligations each party owes to
the other; and
WHEREAS, Domestic workers are still excluded from the most basic
protections afforded the rest of the labor force under state and
federal law, including the rights to fair wages, safe and healthy
working conditions, workers' compensation, protection from
discriminatory and abusive treatment, and to engage in collective
bargaining; and
WHEREAS, Domestic workers are excluded under the National Labor
Relations Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.), leaving them unprotected
when asking for respect of their basic rights and unable to
collectively bargain for conditions allowing them to labor in
dignity; and
WHEREAS, Domestic workers whose primary work is to care for
children, the elderly, or persons with disabilities are excluded from
overtime protections, meal and rest breaks, and reporting time pay
under California law, and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act
exempts live-in domestic workers from overtime provisions and exempts
"companions" for the elderly and "casual" babysitters from federal
minimum wage and overtime provisions; and
WHEREAS, Domestic workers are excluded from the protections of the
California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 and therefore
do not have the right to work in a healthy and safe environment,
leaving them exposed to dangerous and unhealthy working conditions on
a regular basis; and
WHEREAS, Household employees who work less than 52 hours in the 90
days prior to sustaining an injury are excluded from California
workers' compensation coverage, leaving many domestic workers without
an adequate remedy for injuries suffered in the course of their
employment; and
WHEREAS, Because state and federal antidiscrimination laws apply
only to employers with certain minimum numbers of employees, domestic
workers are often unprotected against discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability; and
WHEREAS, Because domestic workers do not have the right to a
minimum number of consecutive hours of uninterrupted sleep, they are
often woken up repeatedly throughout the night, leaving them sleep
deprived, vulnerable to illness, and unable to provide proper care
for those in their charge; and
WHEREAS, Because the vast majority of domestic workers receive no
health benefits from their employers and have no right to paid sick
days, many workers cannot take time off to deal with illness or
medical emergencies, thereby endangering their own health and the
health of the families they care for; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That coverage of domestic workers under state and
federal labor law should be an expression of respect for their
dignity and equality and the importance of the work they perform, and
a rejection of antiquated and long-discredited stereotypes about
domestic work; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature finds that domestic workers are
entitled to industry-specific protections and labor standards that
eliminate discriminatory provisions in the labor laws and guarantee
domestic workers basic workplace rights to ensure that domestic
workers are treated with the respect and dignity they so richly
deserve; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
