BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 889 Page 1 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. AB 889 Page 2 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. AB 889 Page 3 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 AB 889 Page 4 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 FN: 0000896