New Bill Gives Rights Domestic Workers New Rights

An estimated 200,000 domestic workers in New York State will soon have more labor protections under a bill signed into law Tuesday by Gov. David Paterson.

The so-called Domestic Workers Bill of Rights entitles nannies, housekeepers and elder caregivers to one day of rest per week and after a year of employment, a minimum of three paid days off. On top of that, the bill protects workers from sexual harassment and certain types of discrimination.

Current discrimination laws only cover work places with four or more employees and often a domestic worker is a household's sole employee.

The new law also strengthens overtime laws for live-in domestic workers. It is a watered down version of prior bills passed by the state legislature that included paid sick days, vacation days and a requirement that workers be given two weeks notice before being let go. Still, dozens of domestic workers who lobbied Albany for six years celebrated the bill signing.

"Today is a day of recognition for workers here in New York and throughout the country, because long excluded workers now have been included in the labor laws," says one domestic worker, Barbara Young.

The bill is the first of its kind in the country -- and long overdue according to Paterson. The new law will take effect in 90 days.

Terri Gerstein, a deputy commissioner for the New York State Labor Department, says the outreach surrounding the bill, plus the publicity it's getting, should compel a lot more employers to come into compliance with laws that were always on the books. Right now, employers are required to pay their domestic workers overtime and cover them with disability insurance in case they are injured on the job.

Donna Schneiderman, an employer and activist who supports domestic workers, says it's been difficult to know what's fair. "From park bench conversations to Internet chat groups, parents ask other parents about babysitter salary rates, days off, sick time and other employment issues." She believes the new bill will start setting standards.