BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 241
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Date of Hearing: May 8, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 241 (Ammiano) - As Amended: March 19, 2013
Policy Committee: Labor and
Employment Vote: 5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines domestic work as services related to the care of
persons in private households or maintenance of private
households or their premises (i.e., childcare providers,
caregivers of sick and/or elderly and people with
disabilities, house cleaners).
2)Defines domestic work employee as an individual who performs
domestic work and includes live-in domestic work employees.
Specifies In-Home Supportive Service (IHSS) program employees,
specified family members, minor babysitters, employees of a
licensed health care facility, and a person employed or who
contracts with a regional center or the State Department of
Developmental Services are not included in this definition.
3)Defines domestic work employer as a person (including through
a third party employer) who employs or exercises control over
wages, hours, or working conditions of a domestic work
employee. Specifies the State of California, individuals who
receive services through IHSS, licensed health care
facilities, and employment agencies operating solely as
referral agencies are not included in this definition.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potential unknown annual costs to Division of Labor Standard
Enforcement (DSLE), likely between $800,000 and $1.2 million,
to process increased claims (e.g., for wage violations and
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workers compensation) due to the provisions of this bill.
Costs are associated with staff time to review and resolve
claims.
2)One-time administrative costs to the Department of Industrial
Relations (DIR), of approximately $300,000, to update, print,
mail, and process a new wage order detailing the requirements
of this bill.
SUMMARY, CONTINUED
1)Defines personal attendant as a person who performs domestic
work related to the supervision, feeding, or dressing of a
child or other person who needs supervision (including a
babysitter), as specified.
2)Establishes numerous rights for domestic work employees,
including the following: a right to overtime pay after eight
hours in a workday or 40 hours in a workweek; paid days of
rest after one year; mandatory sleeping periods if he or she
is on duty for 24 consecutive hours or more; meal and rest
periods for personal attendants; access to a kitchen; and
sleeping accommodations (live-in employees).
3)Repeals the current requirement that domestic workers work at
least 52 hours and earn more than $100 in the previous 90 days
to be eligible for worker's compensation coverage.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . In August 2010, New York enacted The Domestic
Workers Bill of Rights, which provides minimum pay,
overtime/sick benefits, meal and rest periods, and worker's
compensation benefits, as specified. This law took effect in
November 2010 and defines domestic worker as someone who works
in another person's home, including a housekeeper, and a
caregiver of children and the elderly, as specified.
According to information provided by the author, there are
over 200,000 domestic workers in California who serve as
housekeepers, nannies, caregivers, and home health aids in
private homes. They are primarily immigrant women in work in
private households. According to a survey report entitled,
Behind Closed Doors: Working Conditions of California
Household Workers (Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Day Labor Program
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Women's Collective of La Raza Centro Legal, Data Center, March
2007), 98% of survey respondent were women and of this number
94% are Latina. Also, 54% of respondents indicate they are
the primary income earners for their household.
According to the author, "Domestic workers have historically
been exempted from laws governing the rights afforded to other
workers - decent wages, a safe and healthy workplace, workers
compensation, and other labor protections. The unique nature
of their work requires protections to prevent abuse and
mistreatment from occurring behind closed doors, out of the
public eye." This bill establishes the Domestic Work Employee
Equality, Fairness, and Dignity Act, which delineates specific
rights to domestic workers, as specified.
2)Existing state and federal law generally excludes domestic
workers from some of the protections afforded to other
workers, including the right to overtime wages, healthy and
safe working conditions, worker's compensation, employment
discrimination, and the right to engage in collective
bargaining.
3)Opposition . Opponents of this measure argue the requirements
made on domestic work employers are unnecessary and
burdensome. Specifically, they contend the provisions of the
bill will lead to only wealthy individuals being able to
employ housekeepers, nannies, and caregivers of the elderly
and disabled. They also argue the requirements of this bill
will lead many middle income employers to hire domestic work
employees off the books, which diminishes the tax revenue the
state collects.
4)Previous legislation . AB 889 (Ammiano), in its earlier
version, contained nearly identical provisions related to the
establishment of rights for domestic workers. This bill,
however, was significantly amended during the legislative
process and the final product required DIR, no later than
January 1, 2014, to adopt regulations governing the working
conditions of domestic work employees, as defined. The
regulations were required to provide for all of the following:
(a) overtime compensation, (b) meal and rest periods, and (c)
uninterrupted sleep periods and compensation for
interruptions. This bill was vetoed by the governor in
September 2012 with the following message:
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"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."
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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