SEATTLE – A National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights will be introduced in Congress next year.
Among its sponsors is Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the Washington state Democrat.
The bill would provide a wide range of protections for domestic workers, including labor protections and safeguards from workplace harassment.
It also would establish fair practices for scheduling, rest breaks and paid sick days.
Jayapal says the bill addresses gender, social and economic justice for a workforce that is largely made up of women of color and immigrants making poverty-level wages.
She maintains it will attract more people to domestic work and also improve the quality of their work.
"Domestic workers are looking after the people who are most precious to us in our lives, right?” Jayapal states. “Our parents, our seniors, our kids.
“And we need to make sure that they are paid appropriately, and that they have appropriate protections so that they can be more effective at doing their jobs."
Quoting the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Jayapal calls this profession "the work that makes all other work possible."
She adds a provision requiring written agreements between employers and workers is critically needed.
Eight states have enacted domestic workers' protections, and this year, Seattle became the first U.S. city to do so.
Sterling Harders, president of the Service Employees International Union 775, which represents long-term care workers in Washington state and Montana. She says domestic work of all types is under-appreciated.
It was left out of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and workers generally aren't protected under the Civil Rights Act, which excludes businesses with fewer than 15 employees.
Harders says it's time to dignify this profession.
"These folks are really the backbone of society, and doing work that is critical to the successful functioning of our society,” she states. “And yet for years, they've been disregarded, they've been cut out of basic protections and they've really been shoved to the sidelines."
Harders notes seven in 10 Washingtonians will need care before the end of their lives, and with a wave of Baby Boomers aging, the need for home-based care is growing rapidly.
But a lack of basic on-the-job protections could make it hard to fill that need.
Harders adds the nature of these jobs often means people working in isolation, which makes them vulnerable to abuse.
"Issues of sexual harassment and issues with safety on the job are just more the rule than the exception,” she points out. “And so, I feel like this industry in particular – it's just critically important that we put basic protections in place."
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With hotter summers bringing hotter working conditions, the Maryland Department of Labor is implementing a heat stress standard to protect workers but workers' advocates said it falls short on specifics.
In 2020, the Legislature directed the Labor Department to establish new heat stress protections for workers. A draft standard was released in January for indoor or outdoor work environments when the heat index is above 80 degrees.
Darryl Alexander, adviser for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said the plan does not establish specifics for monitoring.
"They ought to be required to say how they're going to monitor the workplace for changes in temperature, humidity, heat index," Alexander asserted. "The way they require to monitor the workplace for noise, or chemicals or anything else - that, in their written plans, they have to say how they're going to do it."
Alexander argued ideally, employers would be required to use what's known as a "wet bulb globe temperature meter," which monitors the heat index as well as measuring radiant heat from sources such as ovens or sunlight.
The draft standard requires employers to put an effective heat illness prevention and management plan in writing and provide workers annual heat stress training. When the heat index reaches 90, it requires employers to consider the effects of personal protective equipment on heat stress but there are no specifics on how to do it.
Scott Schneider, another adviser for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said how hard you are working and what you are wearing can both contribute to heat stress.
"If you're working and you're wearing impermeable clothing; like you're wearing, like a Tyvek suit, like you're doing asbestos abatement, or if you're out in the fields and you have protective clothing to protect you from pesticide use; that clothing can prevent you from sweating," Schneider noted. "That also will increase your heat stress risk."
He added when calculating heat stress risk, there are methods to account for protective clothing or harder work. He thinks the standard should include specifics on both. The Department of Labor is expected to have the plan finalized by this summer.
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Minnesota is among the states taking a closer look at extending unemployment benefits to workers who go on strike. A bill making its way through the Legislature would make workers involved in a walkout of at least one week eligible for jobless benefits.
In the past year, labor economists have said, there's been positive movement with wage growth. However, backers of Minnesota's plan are pointing to major gaps between corporate profits and the pay most workers receive.
When those individuals want to fight for fair compensation, Jake Schwitzer, executive director of the left-leaning think tank North Star Policy Action, said they're at a big disadvantage in taking on ownership.
"They can use their considerable profits to engage in bad-faith negotiating tactics, and simply wait out their poorly paid workers," he said.
During labor disputes, Schwitzer said, providing unemployment benefits alleviates hardships and empowers workers to keep fighting.
Critics have cited the potential costs and disincentivizing people to work. However, research from Schwitzer's group estimates fewer than 200 additional workers are added to the unemployment rolls in these cases.
Nearly 10 other states have either debated or enacted similar laws.
John Kontzelmann, secretary-treasurer of UAW Local 125, said a walkout is viewed as a last resort, while noting the recent auto workers' strike was a tough choice for many of his colleagues.
"The uncertainty of no or reduced income, for an unknown amount of time, was very stressful and worrying," he said.
Without small levels of assistance from a union strike fund, Kontzelmann said, making ends meet would have been even more challenging for workers and their families.
The Minnesota bill cleared a House committee this week. It's unclear if it will win final legislative approval.
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Critics say a bill passed by West Virginia lawmakers increases the bureaucratic red tape folks who rely on unemployment benefits have to navigate and could financially hurt families already struggling with the high cost of living and ongoing inflation.
Kelly Allen, executive director with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said the bill includes new reporting from employers and job research requirements for recipients, but keeps the maximum number of benefits available at 26 weeks.
"Safety-net kind of programs like this, that help bridge families between jobs and keep them economically secure, is a really important tool," Allen said.
Senate Bill 841 also limits the amount of money employers pay into the unemployment fund to $9,500 of an employee's earnings. Supporters of the bill argue the state's trust fund is in peril and say the measure helps save money. The bill goes into effect on July 1.
Allen pointed out that research shows unemployment insurance helps families stay afloat during economic downturns, and provides continuous income for basic household needs. She added that unemployment insurance has also been linked to reduced rates of child abuse and neglect.
"We know that generous unemployment insurance and robust unemployment insurance benefits mitigate the impact that those economic shocks have on families and the data shows can actually reduce child welfare involvement, " Allen continued.
According to state data, the state's unemployment rate was nearly 5% as of the beginning of this year.
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