Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2112 To enhance the rights of domestic workers, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 15, 2019 Ms. HARRIS (for herself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. SANDERS, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To enhance the rights of domestic workers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Definitions. TITLE I—DOMESTIC WORKER RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2112.IS S2112 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2112 IS Subtitle A—Amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 Sec. 101. Overtime protections for live-in domestic employees. Sec. 102. Live-in domestic employees termination notices and communications. Sec. 103. Enforcement. Subtitle B—Domestic Worker Rights Sec. 110. Written agreements. Sec. 111. Earned sick days. Sec. 112. Fair scheduling practices. Sec. 113. Right to request and receive temporary changes to scheduled work hours due to personal events. Sec. 114. Privacy. Sec. 115. Breaks for meals and rest. Sec. 116. Unfair wage deductions for cash shortages, breakages, loss, or modes of communication. Sec. 117. Prohibited acts. Sec. 118. Enforcement authority. Sec. 119. Effect on existing employment benefits and other laws. Subtitle C—Domestic Worker Health and Safety Sec. 121. National domestic worker hotline. Sec. 122. Access to health and safety. Sec. 123. Occupational safety and health training grants. Sec. 124. Study of access to workers’ compensation. Sec. 125. Workplace harassment survivor supports study. Subtitle D—Amendment to Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 Sec. 131. Including certain domestic workers in civil rights protections against discrimination in employment. TITLE II—ORGANIZING, BENEFITS, AND WORKFORCE INVESTMENT Sec. 201. Domestic worker wage and standards board. Sec. 202. Domestic workers’ benefits study. Sec. 203. Workforce investment activities grants for domestic workers. Sec. 204. Report on career pathways, training standards, and apprenticeships for domestic workers. TITLE III—IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DOMESTIC WORKERS BILL OF RIGHTS Sec. 301. Definitions. Sec. 302. Notice of domestic worker rights. Sec. 303. Interagency Task Force on Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Enforce- ment. Sec. 304. National grant for community-based education, outreach, and en- forcement of domestic worker rights. Sec. 305. Encouraging the use of fiscal intermediaries. Sec. 306. J–1 Visa program. Sec. 307. Application to domestic workers who provide Medicaid-funded serv- ices. Sec. 308. Delayed enforcement for government-funded programs. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2112.IS S2112 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2112 IS TITLE IV—FUNDING Sec. 401. Temporary increase in the Federal medical assistance percentage for Medicaid-funded services provided by domestic workers. Sec. 402. Process for determining an increased FMAP to ensure a robust homecare workforce under Medicaid. Sec. 403. Authorization of appropriations. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) There are an estimated 2,500,000 domestic 3 workers across the United States working in the 4 homes of people of the United States to provide 5 home and personal care, child care, and house clean- 6 ing services. 7 (2) Domestic work makes all other work pos- 8 sible. It is work that cannot be outsourced to work- 9 ers living outside of the United States, nor is it close 10 to being automated. Without the millions of domes- 11 tic workers caring for children, seniors, and individ- 12 uals with disabilities, and cleaning homes, much of 13 the economy would come to a standstill. 14 (3) The employment of individuals in domestic 15 service in households affects commerce as described 16 in section 2(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 17 1938 (29 U.S.C. 202(a)). 18 (4) Domestic workers are hired or contacted for 19 work by phone, mail, or Internet, or through news- 20 paper ads, and travel to work through transpor- 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2112.IS S2112 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2112 IS tation on interstate highways, interstate transit, or 1 vehicles in interstate commerce. 2 (5) In 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics 3 predicted that between 2016 and 2026— 4 (A) the number of new jobs for home 5 health and personal care aides will increase 41 6 percent, which is an increase of 1,200,000 jobs 7 and the largest increase in new jobs of any oc- 8 cupational category during such period; and 9 (B) the number of new jobs for child care 10 and house cleaning positions will increase 6 to 11 7 percent. 12 (6) Nine out of ten domestic workers are 13 women, and such women are disproportionately peo- 14 ple of color and immigrants. Women, people of color, 15 and immigrants have historically faced barriers to 16 employment and economic advancement. 17 (7) Domestic workers face low wages and unac- 18 ceptable working conditions. Data from the Bureau 19 of Labor Statistics indicates that the average wage 20 for a domestic worker is approximately $11 per 21 hour, or $23,000 per year if working full-time. In 22 practice, the average wage for a domestic worker is 23 less than such approximation given that domestic 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2112.IS S2112 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2112 IS work has largely been negotiated in the informal 1 labor market. 2 (8) A landmark study of domestic workers pub- 3 lished in 2012 by the National Domestic Workers 4 Alliance and the Center for Urban Economic Devel- 5 opment of the University of Illinois at Chicago Data 6 Center titled ‘‘Home Economics: The Invisible and 7 Unregulated World of Domestic Work’’ indicated 8 poor working conditions across the domestic workers 9 industry. The findings of such study included that— 10 (A) domestic workers have little control 11 over their working conditions, and employment 12 is usually arranged without a written contract; 13 (B) 35 percent of domestic workers inter- 14 viewed reported that they worked long hours 15 without breaks in the year immediately pre- 16 ceding the interview; 17 (C) 25 percent of live-in domestic workers 18 had responsibilities that prevented them from 19 getting at least 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep 20 at night during the week immediately preceding 21 the interview; and 22 (D) 91 percent of domestic workers inter- 23 viewed who encountered problems with their 24 working conditions in the year immediately pre- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2112.IS S2112 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2112 IS ceding the interview did not complain about 1 their working conditions because they were 2 afraid they would lose their job. 3 (9) The study described in paragraph (8) found 4 that domestic workers have little access to federally 5 supported employment benefits. For instance: 6 (A) Less than 2 percent of such workers 7 receive retirement or pension benefits, and less 8 than 9 percent of such workers work for em- 9 ployers that collect payroll taxes on wages paid 10 to such workers to provide eligibility for Social 11 Security benefits. 12 (B) Sixty-five percent of such workers do 13 not have health insurance, and only 4 percent 14 of such workers receive employer-provided in- 15 surance, despite the fact that domestic work is 16 hazardous and often results in illness or phys- 17 ical injuries. 18 (10) Compounding these challenges is the fact 19 that many domestic workers have been, and in many 20 cases continue to be, excluded from key provisions of 21 labor and employment laws like the Fair Labor 22 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), the 23 Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 (29 24 U.S.C. 651 et seq.), and the National Labor Rela- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2112.IS S2112 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2112 IS tions Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). Minimum em- 1 ployee threshold rules, misclassification of domestic 2 workers as independent contractors, and exclusion of 3 independent contractors from coverage means that 4 most domestic workers are also de facto excluded 5 from Federal civil rights protections, including pro- 6 tections under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 7 1964 (29 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) and other laws. 8 (11) The International Labour Organization’s 9 Domestic Workers Convention, adopted in 2011, 10 calls for domestic workers to have the right to free- 11 dom of association and collective actions, protections 12 against harassment, privacy rights, and the right to 13 be informed of conditions of employment. This Con- 14 vention also calls for the right of domestic workers 15 to keep their travel documents, the right to overtime 16 compensation and rest breaks, the right to minimum 17 wage coverage, the right to occupational safety and 18 health protections, and mechanisms to pursue com- 19 plaints and ensure compliance with the law. 20 (12) The unique nature of their work, in pri- 21 vate homes with individuals and families, also often 22 makes it difficult for domestic workers to use Fed- 23 eral programs and policies to improve their skills 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2112.IS S2112 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2112 IS and training and to join together collectively to ne- 1 gotiate better pay and working conditions. 2 (13) Many domestic workers are also vulnerable 3 to discrimination and sexual harassment. These 4 issues are further exacerbated by the unique working 5 conditions faced by domestic workers, such as isola- 6 tion, poverty, immigration status, the lack of famili- 7 arity with the law and legal processes, limited net- 8 works for support, language barriers, and fear of re- 9 taliation and deportation. 10 (14) Millions of older individuals, individuals 11 with disabilities, and families are increasingly relying 12 on domestic workers. By bringing domestic work out 13 of the shadows and creating incentives and invest- 14 ments that help raise wages and standards for do- 15 mestic workers, the Federal Government can lift mil- 16 lions of the most vulnerable workers out of poverty, 17 reduce turnover due to poor working conditions, 18 thereby enhancing quality of care, and support the 19 millions of working and retired people of the United 20 States who rely on them. 21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 22 (a) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT DEFINITIONS.— 23 In this Act, the terms ‘‘commerce’’, ‘‘employ’’, ‘‘em- 24 ployee’’, ‘‘employer’’, ‘‘enterprise’’, ‘‘enterprise engaged in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2112.IS S2112 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2112 IS commerce or in the production of goods for commerce’’, 1 ‘‘goods’’, ‘‘person’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given 2 such terms in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act 3 of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 4 (b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 5 (1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’— 6 (A) means an individual who is under 18 7 years of age; and 8 (B) includes an individual described in 9 subparagraph (A) who is— 10 (i) a biological, foster, or adopted 11 child; 12 (ii) a stepchild; 13 (iii) a child of a domestic partner; 14 (iv) a legal ward; or 15 (v) a child of a person standing in 16 loco parentis. 17 (2) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 18 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri- 19 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 20 12102). 21 (3) DOMESTIC PARTNER.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘domestic 23 partner’’, with respect to an individual, means 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2112.IS S2112 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2112 IS another individual with whom the individual is 1 in a committed relationship. 2 (B) COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP DE- 3 FINED.—The term ‘‘committed relationship’’ 4 for purposes of subparagraph (A)— 5 (i) means a relationship between 2 in- 6 dividuals, each at least 18 years of age, in 7 which both individuals share responsibility 8 for a significant measure of each other’s 9 common welfare; and 10 (ii) includes any such relationship be- 11 tween 2 individuals, including individuals 12 of the same sex, that is granted legal rec- 13 ognition by a State or political subdivision 14 of a State as a marriage or analogous rela- 15 tionship, including a civil union or domes- 16 tic partnership. 17 (4) DOMESTIC SERVICES.—The term ‘‘domestic 18 services’’— 19 (A) means services of a household nature 20 provided in interstate commerce and performed 21 by an individual in or about a private home 22 (permanent or temporary); and 23 (B) includes services performed by individ- 24 uals such as companions, babysitters, cooks, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2112.IS S2112 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2112 IS waiters, butlers, valets, maids, housekeepers, 1 nannies, nurses, janitors, laundresses, care- 2 takers, handymen, gardeners, home health 3 aides, personal care aides, and chauffeurs of 4 automobiles for family use. 5 (5) DOMESTIC WORKER.—The term ‘‘domestic 6 worker’’— 7 (A) means, except as provided in subpara- 8 graph (B), an individual, including an em- 9 ployee, who is compensated directly or indirectly 10 for the performance of domestic services; and 11 (B) does not include— 12 (i) a family member, friend, or neigh- 13 bor of a child, or a parent of a child, who 14 provides child care in the child’s home; 15 (ii) any individual who is an employee 16 of a family child care provider or is a fam- 17 ily child care provider; and 18 (iii) any employee described in section 19 13(a)(15) of the Fair Labor Standards Act 20 of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(15)). 21 (6) DOMESTIC WORK HIRING ENTITY.—The 22 term ‘‘domestic w [Text truncated for display. 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