BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 889
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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 889 (Ammiano and V. Manuel Pérez)
          As Amended  May 27, 2011
          Majority vote 

           LABOR & EMPLOYMENT        5-1   APPROPRIATIONS      12-5        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Swanson, Alejo, Allen,    |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield,     |
          |     |Furutani, Yamada          |     |Bradford, Charles         |
          |     |                          |     |Calderon, Campos, Davis,  |
          |     |                          |     |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara,  |
          |     |                          |     |Mitchell, Solorio         |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Miller                    |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly,         |
          |     |                          |     |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner    |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :   Enacts the Domestic Work Employee Equality, Fairness 
          and Dignity Act.  Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Defines "domestic work" to mean services related to the care 
            of persons in private households or maintenance of private 
            households or their premises.

          2)Defines "domestic work employee" as an individual who performs 
            domestic work (including live-in domestic work employees and 
            personal attendants).  The term does not include In-Home 
            Supportive Services program employees, specified family 
            members, or minor babysitters.

          3)Specifies that "domestic work employee" does not include a 
            person employed by a licensed health facility, as specified.

          4)Specifies that "domestic work employee" does not include a 
            person who is employed or contracts with an organization 
            vendored or contracted through a regional center or the 
            Department of Developmental Services, as specified.

          5)Defines a "domestic work employer" as a person who (including 
            through the services of a third-party employer) employs or 
            exercises control over the wages, hours or working conditions 
            of a domestic work employee.








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          6)Specifies that a "domestic work employer" does not include a 
            domestic referral agency, as specified.

          7)Establishes specific employment rights for domestic work 
            employees, including the following:

             a)   A domestic work employee shall be entitled to overtime 
               after eight hours in a workday or 40 hours in a workweek;

             b)   A domestic work employee who is required to be on duty 
               for 24 consecutive hours or more shall have a minimum of 
               eight consecutive hours of uninterrupted sleep except in an 
               emergency;

             c)   A live-in domestic work employee shall not be required 
               to work more than five days in any one workweek without a 
               day off;

             d)   Live-in domestic work employees and those who work for 
               more than 24 consecutive hours shall be provided sleeping 
               accommodations that are adequate, decent and sanitary;

             e)   A domestic work employee is entitled to meal and rest 
               periods, as specified;

             f)   A domestic work employer shall permit a domestic work 
               employee who works five hours or more to choose the food he 
               or she eats and to prepare his or her own meals; and, 

             g)   A domestic work employee shall accrue paid vacation 
               benefits as specified.

          8)Specifies certain penalties and remedial provisions, and 
            provides for a private right of action for enforcement, of the 
            aforementioned rights.

          9)Eliminates the current requirement that domestic workers must 
            work at least 52 hours and earn more than $100 in the previous 
            90 days to be eligible for worker's compensation coverage.

          10)Makes other related and conforming changes.

          11)Makes related legislative findings and declarations.








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           FISCAL EFFECT  :   According to the Assembly Appropriations 
          Committee, this bill will result in annual costs (likely between 
          $70,000 and $125,000) to the Division of Labor Standards 
          Enforcement, and one-time administrative costs to the Employment 
          Development Department between $150,000 and $200,000.

           COMMENTS  :   This bill proposes to enact the "Domestic Work 
          Employee Equality, Fairness and Dignity Act."  According to the 
          author, in California there are around 200,000 domestic workers 
          who serve as housekeepers, nannies, and caregivers in private 
          homes.  Domestic workers are primarily immigrant women who work 
          in private households in order to provide for their own families 
          as the primary income earner.  The role of domestic workers is 
          essential to California as it enables others to participate in 
          the workforce.  Without these domestic workers many Californians 
          would be forced to forgo their own jobs to address their 
          household needs, the result being that the well-being of many 
          California families and the economy as a whole would suffer. 

          However, the author states that, despite the importance of their 
          work, domestic workers have historically received wages well 
          below the poverty line and continue to be excluded from some of 
          the most fundamental labor protections other Californian workers 
          enjoy.  Domestic workers have historically been exempted from 
          laws governing the rights afforded to other workers - decent 
          wages, a safe and healthy workplace health, workers compensation 
          and other labor protections.  

          Similarly, supporters argue that this bill would extend equal 
          rights to domestic workers and standardize an industry made 
          largely invisible.  Domestic workers are the backbone of the 
          economy yet they have been excluded from basic labor laws.  This 
          bill seeks to provide domestic workers with equal labor rights 
          and industry-wide standards so that they can provide quality 
          care to the individuals and homes with which they are entrusted. 
           Supporters contend that this bill simplifies the law and 
          provides uniform protection to all domestic workers.  They 
          believe this uniformity will increase the quality of care and 
          standardize the industry.
           
          The California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH) 
          strongly opposes this bill, arguing that it would significantly 
          increase the cost of home care for seniors, people with 








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          disabilities, and other frail Californians, and would further 
          strengthen an already dangerously large underground economy.
           
          CAHSAH notes that there is already a robust underground economy 
          in home care where neither the consumer nor the worker has any 
          protections against financial, physical, or emotional abuse.  
          The underground economy has no oversight, taxes are not paid, 
          liability is not covered, and it often leads to one side taking 
          advantage of the other.  If the cost of home care is drastically 
          increased, as proposed in this bill, CAHSAH argues that the 
          price difference between legitimate home care companies and the 
          underground option will widen and the underground economy will 
          dramatically grow, at a detriment to all stakeholders involved.  
          Finally, CAHSAH concludes that if this bill passes, significant 
          regulatory burdens will be placed on the home care industry, 
          causing the job growth in this sector, which California has 
          benefited from, to come to a halt.

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091 




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