The National Domestic Worker Bill of Rights is the 1st comprehensive federal legislation to create strong rights and workplace protections for domestic workers across the country. The Bill of Rights covers three major gaps in protecting domestic workers in the workplace.
All domestic workers are currently covered by federal minimum wage and most are covered by federal overtime protections. The Bill of Rights closes the outstanding exclusion in federal overtime protections for live-in domestic workers who are privately paid, so that all domestic workers receive fair compensation and treatment.
Currently, many domestic workers are excluded from harassment and discrimination protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This bill extends civil rights protections to domestic workers.
Currently, many domestic workers are not covered under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This bill extends these federal health and safety protections to domestic workers.
The people who care for others need to be able to care for themselves and their families. This bill ensures that domestic workers can earn at least seven days time to care for themselves and their loved ones when they are sick or need medical care.
This bill requires adequate termination notices for domestic workers who live in their employer’s home to find a new home and access to communications (telephone and internet) to help prevent workplace abuses.
This bill ensures common sense privacy protections so that domestic workers may not be recorded in their private spaces or have their privacy restricted.
Creates a standard written agreement to ensure that workers and employers understand the rights domestic workers have under the law, and that full terms, duties, and conditions of their employment are clear and explicit.
This bill establishes a Domestic Worker Standards Board to investigate standards in the industry and make recommendations to promote health, safety, and well-being for domestic workers. The Board is a mechanism to empower domestic workers and have their voice heard at work.
The bill establishes a national hotline for domestic workers to call in cases of non-life threatening emergencies or to seek support.
The bill requires a study and new recommendations to improve federal supports like mental health counseling and housing assistance for survivors of workplace harassment in low-wage, vulnerable, and marginalized sectors including domestic work.
The Bill of Rights strengthens protections against retaliation for domestic workers who exercise their rights.
Establishing new rights is only the first step. Employers and workers need to know what they are and how to implement them. The bill provides resources for education and outreach, including grants for community-based outreach and education for workers and employers.
The bill creates and funds an Interagency Task Force on Protecting Domestic Workers’ Workplace Rights, including DOL, HHS, and EEOC, to support enforcement and address barriers to implementation and enforcement. It also includes grants for worker organizations to assist workers in the enforcement of their rights. The bill also encourages the use of payment systems or other fiscal intermediaries to help improve transparency, enforcement and the accessibility of benefits for workers.