NY lawmakers lead effort to establish rights for domestic workers in US

NY lawmakers back rights for domestic workers

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York domestic workers will be the first in the U.S. guaranteed overtime pay, as well as time off and protections against sexual harassment, under a measure given final legislative approval Thursday.

Gov. David Paterson, whose staff helped negotiate the final bill, said he will sign it into law. He thanked the thousands of workers who organized and lobbied for passage.

“Their work is of incalculable value, yet our laws have failed to recognize it,” he said.

An advocacy group, Domestic Workers United, estimates there are 200,000 domestic workers in New York City. The group said it found about one-third reported verbal or physical abuse by employers, and two-thirds said they never received overtime pay.

There may be another 60,000 to 70,000 statewide, said Sen. Diane Savino. They are predominantly women and foreign-born.

“We believe this will be the beginning,” said Savino, a Democrat from Staten Island who sponsored the Senate bill. “Like every other major change in labor law the federal government finally enacts, it always starts with the states.”

Nannies, housekeepers and companions to the sick and elderly would get overtime pay after a 40-hour workweek and after 44 hours for those who live in their employers’ homes. The law guarantees at least 24 consecutive hours off weekly and three paid days off yearly, starting after one year. Sponsors said it subjects employers to state law for complaints of unwelcome sexual advances and also applies New York’s minimum wage provisions.

The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, the same as the state’s, already applies. The law will take effect 90 days after signing, providing time to notify employers, she said.

Overtime would be paid at 1.5 times a worker’s normal wage rate. The bill passed the Assembly 89-38 and the Senate 35-26 on Thursday.

Jill Shenker, organizer for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, said California lawmakers passed a related measure in 2006 that was vetoed. Advocates are working for similar rights in other states, including California and Colorado, and at the U.S. Labor Department and taking up the issue internationally, she said.

The New York bill calls for the state Labor Department to study working conditions and the feasibility of collective bargaining and report back by Nov. 1.

Assemblyman David Townsend, an Oneida County Republican, questioned what the workers do over and above baby-sitting and cleaning, work teenagers do without getting paid as much.

“Domestic workers care for children. They almost become like second parents,” replied Assemblyman Keith Wright, a bill sponsor and Manhattan Democrat. “Whatever your mother did for you, Mr. Townsend, I’m sure these domestic workers have done.”

The legislation excludes casual workers like occasional house cleaners and baby sitters, relatives, and those working for outside agencies or providing services through government programs.