Eileen Boris

Megan Undén

University of California, Santa

Barbara

Enforcement Strategies For Empowerment:

Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

MethodologyPart I: Historical overview with USA, state

legislative + document analysisPart II: June 3 Convening-- Audio recording

for transcriptions, Ethnography, Participant Observation + Interviews

California Domestic Workers’ CoalitionJune 3, 2015 Convening - UCLA Labor CenterCalifornia Domestic Workers’ Coalition

ConveningNational Domestic Workers Alliance

affiliate members: Boston, Atlanta, Chicago + New York

Allies + local activistsEmphasis on enforcement with SB 241 Upcoming campaign with sunset provisionsInformation Sharing, Best Practices &

Relationship Building

DWBOR in the USA:Private Household WorkersNew York – 2010 (passed)Hawaii- 2013 (passed)California -2014 (passed):

Sunset ProvisionMassachusetts – 2014

(passed)Oregon – June 17, 2015

(passed)

Proposed Legislation: Connecticut + Illinois

First DWBOR passed in the USA

Protection with minimum wage, overtime, discrimination/ civil rights, and written contracts

Task force explored and affirmed possibility of health care coverage/ benefits & unionization, collective bargaining and worker centered co-ops– never enacted

Enhancements with Wage Theft Protection Act

New York- 2010

Protection with minimum wage, overtime; anti- discrimination and harassment once employed

Employer obligations with contracts & record keeping

Enforcement: Most restrictive (180 days) to file complaints via civil or administrative processes

Use of Immigrant Resource Centers via the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to enforce rights and as places for contacting

Initiated by Governor Neil Abercrombie (D) and legislators, not a workers’ movement

Hawaii - 2013

Version passed in 2013 was the third proposal: previous bills vetoed by governors

Most already covered by Wage Order 15 for minimum wage, overtime, and anti-discrimination

Excludes IHS workers, but includes other care workers

Expires January 1, 20172016 Campaign to end sunset

provision & expandWage Theft Protection Act

includes Domestic Workers; so does new paid sick day law

California- 2014 (sunset law)

Most comprehensive thus far with employer responsibilities for record keeping and contracts

Enforcement options using AG administrative claims, civil rights/ discrimination and civil litigation

Minimum wage, overtime, and protections for live-in workers, including maximum deductions for food/ room and board, with 30 days coverage for housing if let go

Protection from harassment and discrimination

Right to unionize & collective bargaining under current law

Massachusetts - 2015

Governor Kate Brown signed SB 552

Provisions include: overtime pay, periods of rest, paid personal time, protection against harassment

Implementation & Enforcement via Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries

Oregon - June 17, 2015

HB 5527Only includes households or employers with 3 or more employeesWritten contracts, overtime and minimum wage, possibility of paid leave Passed CT House on March 12, 2015 & the Senate on June

Connecticut (Pending)

HB 1288 House Amendment 1 – The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Provisions: minimum wage coverage, paid for all work hours, one day off a week, right to meals and rest periods Will most likely fail—passed House but Governor hostile

Illinois

Civil LitigationUsually after leaving

employmentBest bet under wage theft

provisions of Wage and Hour Laws

Exposes litigant to legal system and to employers

best used after abuseSystem slow and no

guarantees of monetary relief

Models for Enforcement

Office of Attorney General

Wage and Hour Division

Anti-Discrimination Commission

Problem of lack of inspectors and complaint driven

State Agency

Employment Bureau/Public AuthorityMixed History: space for

worker control and for-profit preying on jobless

Public Employment Services

ILO Convention #181 Hiring HallPublic Authority (home

care)Fair Care Worker Run

Agency

More Promising Models

Worker Center/NGO

“Know Your Rights” Campaigns; Fair Care Pledges: Voluntary

Mujeres Unida y ActivasMatahari (Boston)Fe y Justicia (Houston)NDWA AtlantaAmbassador Worker to

Worker (DWU)Grassroots Monitoring

Recommendations from UCLA Convening June 3, 2015 (Preliminary)

Worker Empowerment + Dignity: Building Power & Collective Bargaining

Living wage, overtime, rest periods, benefits, schedule + notices, and enforcement with SB 241

Geographical based strategies

Access to education, certification + career paths (within domestic work + different career paths)

Coalitions and networks: Information sharing, legal fragmentation to be addressed, work with government agencies

Immigration: DWBOR provisions impact citizens, immigrants + those with precarious immigrant statuses differently, and can be harmful for some without comprehensive immigration reform

Limited DWBOROccupational Health

and Safety limitedCollective Bargaining

limitedSocial Security limitedMigrant workers

limitedFull Written Contracts

and Job Descriptions limited

Confidentiality of personal data

Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labor

Time ProtectionsWork-Life BalanceCodes of Conduct for

Diplomatic Personnel

ILO Standards Still Aspirational

Some Additional ILO Recommendations

This presentation has been partially funded by a Social Science and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grant on Gender, Migration, and the Work of Care ((File No: 895-2012-1021), Ito Peng, PI, with Eileen Boris serving as a Collaborator. Other funding comes from the Hull Chair in Feminist Studies, UCSB, and a Research Grant from the UCLA Institute in Research on Labor and Employment

Special thanks to the California Domestic Worker Alliance, the National Domestic Worker Alliance, all participants at the June 4, 2015 convening, UCLA Labor Center, and UCLA IRLE

This presentation draws upon: Eileen Boris, Merita Jokela, and Megan Undén

Enforcement Strategies for Empowerment: Models for the California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. Research Brief. UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. Number 30 (June 2015).

Link: http://www.irle.ucla.edu/publications/documents/EnforcementforEmpowermentReport.pdf