Bill Text: VA HJR87 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Domestic Workers Day. Designating as June 16, 2024, and each succeeding year thereafter.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-02-27 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ87ER) [HJR87 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HJR87-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, every day, domestic workers care for the elderly, assist people with disabilities, clean homes, and nurture children, thus freeing up the time and attention of millions of other members of working families; and
WHEREAS, domestic work is routinely undervalued and overlooked, and the needs of domestic workers are often cast into the shadows or made invisible; and
WHEREAS, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, 54,236 domestic workers, including nannies, house cleaners, and home care workers, were employed in Virginia in 2022; and
WHEREAS, in the United States, domestic workers were intentionally excluded from the Fair Labor Standards Act as a concession to southern politicians in the early 1900s; and
WHEREAS, this exclusion was mirrored on the state level, creating an unregulated and underground economy that left domestic workers subject to widespread mistreatment and abuse in the United States; and
WHEREAS, without laws to regulate behavior and policies, domestic workers are vulnerable to rampant exploitation, including wage theft, sexual harassment and abuse, and discrimination; and
WHEREAS, domestic workers often have to rely on the good graces of potential employers rather than expect industry standards and practices to protect them; and
WHEREAS, in 2010 and 2011, domestic workers from around the world came together to fight to establish the first global standards for the estimated 50 to 100 million domestic workers worldwide, and International Domestic Workers Day celebrates the passage in 2011 of the International Labour Organization Convention 189 concerning decent working conditions and standards for domestic workers; and
WHEREAS, International Labour Organization Convention 189 provides domestic workers with protections equivalent to those available to other workers, addresses historic discrimination and frequent exclusion from labor laws for the domestic work sector, and promises better working conditions and better lives; and
WHEREAS, after the passage of International Labour Organization Convention 189, domestic workers established the International Domestic Workers Federation, a strong, democratic and united domestic workers global organization to protect and advance domestic workers' rights everywhere; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, Virginia became the first southern state to extend labor protections to domestic workers by passing the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights; since that time, 11 states, the District of Columbia, and one municipality have passed similar legislation, representing a historic step forward for domestic work being recognized as real work and establishing labor protections; and
WHEREAS, domestic workers have an inherent right to be able to demand more from their industry and be able to engage in dialogue with employers and government officials to determine fair standards that honor their humanity; and
WHEREAS, Domestic Workers Day provides an opportunity for all Virginians to honor the contributions of domestic workers to the individuals and families who benefit from their labor and care, as well as to seek opportunities to support domestic workers as they strive to develop international standards for their industry; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly designate June 16, in 2024 and in each succeeding year, as Domestic Workers Day in Virginia; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to Care in Action and the National Domestic Workers Alliance so that members of the organizations may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter; and, be it
RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates post the designation of this day on the General Assembly's website.
