BILL NUMBER:  AB 889
  VETOED	DATE: 09/30/2012




To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 889 without my signature.

Domestic workers work in the homes of ill, elderly or disabled
people. They often share duties and responsibilities with the family
and friends of the patient-employer. Those employed in this noble
endeavor, like anyone who works for a living, deserve fair pay and
safe working conditions. Seeking to improve the circumstances of
these workers however, raises a number of unanswered questions.

What will be the economic and human impact on the disabled or elderly
person and their family of requiring overtime, rest and meal periods
for attendants who provide 24 hour care? What would be the
additional costs and what is the financial capacity of those taking
care of loved ones in the last years of life? Will it increase costs
to the point of forcing people out of their homes and into licensed
institutions?

Will there be fewer jobs for domestic workers?  Will the available
jobs be for fewer hours? Will they be less flexible?

What will be the impact of the looming federal policies in this area?
   How would the state actually enforce the new work rules in the
privacy of people's homes?

The bill calls for these questions to be studied by the state
Department of Industrial Relations and for the department to
simultaneously issue new regulations to provide overtime, meal, rest
break and sleep periods for domestic workers.  In the face of
consequences both unknown and unintended, I find it more prudent to
do the studies before considering an untested legal regime for those
that work in our homes.

Finally, a drafting error leaves most In Home Supportive Service
(IHSS) workers subject to this measure - - resulting in costs to the
state of over $200 million per year.  This could require cuts in
wages, reduced hours of care and other reductions to those served by
IHSS workers.

Sincerely,



Edmund G. Brown Jr.