BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 889
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 889 (Ammiano and V. Manuel P�rez)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
LABOR & EMPLOYMENT 5-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|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 |
| | | | |
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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
FN: 0000896