Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3760 To enhance the rights of domestic workers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 15, 2019 Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. LEE of Cali- fornia, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. MENG, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. POCAN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. HAALAND, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. OMAR, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. NADLER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. ENGEL, and Ms. ADAMS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, the Judiciary, House Adminis- tration, and Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3760 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Definitions. TITLE I—DOMESTIC WORKER RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS 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. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3760 IH 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. 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3760 IH in section 2(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1 1938 (29 U.S.C. 202(a)). 2 (4) Domestic workers are hired or contacted for 3 work by phone, mail, or Internet, or through news- 4 paper ads, and travel to work through transpor- 5 tation on interstate highways, interstate transit, or 6 vehicles in interstate commerce. 7 (5) In 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics 8 predicted that between 2016 and 2026— 9 (A) the number of new jobs for home 10 health and personal care aides will increase 41 11 percent, which is an increase of 1,200,000 jobs 12 and the largest increase in new jobs of any oc- 13 cupational category during such period; and 14 (B) the number of new jobs for child care 15 and house cleaning positions will increase 6 to 16 7 percent. 17 (6) Nine out of ten domestic workers are 18 women, and such women are disproportionately peo- 19 ple of color and immigrants. Women, people of color, 20 and immigrants have historically faced barriers to 21 employment and economic advancement. 22 (7) Domestic workers face low wages and unac- 23 ceptable working conditions. Data from the Bureau 24 of Labor Statistics indicates that the average wage 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3760 IH for a domestic worker is approximately $11 per 1 hour, or $23,000 per year if working full-time. In 2 practice, the average wage for a domestic worker is 3 less than such approximation given that domestic 4 work has largely been negotiated in the informal 5 labor market. 6 (8) A landmark study of domestic workers pub- 7 lished in 2012 by the National Domestic Workers 8 Alliance and the Center for Urban Economic Devel- 9 opment of the University of Illinois at Chicago Data 10 Center titled ‘‘Home Economics: The Invisible and 11 Unregulated World of Domestic Work’’ indicated 12 poor working conditions across the domestic workers 13 industry. The findings of such study included that— 14 (A) domestic workers have little control 15 over their working conditions, and employment 16 is usually arranged without a written contract; 17 (B) 35 percent of domestic workers inter- 18 viewed reported that they worked long hours 19 without breaks in the year immediately pre- 20 ceding the interview; 21 (C) 25 percent of live-in domestic workers 22 had responsibilities that prevented them from 23 getting at least 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3760 IH at night during the week immediately preceding 1 the interview; and 2 (D) 91 percent of domestic workers inter- 3 viewed who encountered problems with their 4 working conditions in the year immediately pre- 5 ceding the interview did not complain about 6 their working conditions because they were 7 afraid they would lose their job. 8 (9) The study described in paragraph (8) found 9 that domestic workers have little access to federally 10 supported employment benefits. For instance: 11 (A) Less than 2 percent of such workers 12 receive retirement or pension benefits, and less 13 than 9 percent of such workers work for em- 14 ployers that collect payroll taxes on wages paid 15 to such workers to provide eligibility for Social 16 Security benefits. 17 (B) Sixty-five percent of such workers do 18 not have health insurance, and only 4 percent 19 of such workers receive employer-provided in- 20 surance, despite the fact that domestic work is 21 hazardous and often results in illness or phys- 22 ical injuries. 23 (10) Compounding these challenges is the fact 24 that many domestic workers have been, and in many 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3760 IH cases continue to be, excluded from key provisions of 1 labor and employment laws like the Fair Labor 2 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), the 3 Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 (29 4 U.S.C. 651 et seq.), and the National Labor Rela- 5 tions Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). Minimum em- 6 ployee threshold rules, misclassification of domestic 7 workers as independent contractors, and exclusion of 8 independent contractors from coverage means that 9 most domestic workers are also de facto excluded 10 from Federal civil rights protections, including pro- 11 tections under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 12 1964 (29 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) and other laws. 13 (11) The International Labour Organization’s 14 Domestic Workers Convention, adopted in 2011, 15 calls for domestic workers to have the right to free- 16 dom of association and collective actions, protections 17 against harassment, privacy rights, and the right to 18 be informed of conditions of employment. This Con- 19 vention also calls for the right of domestic workers 20 to keep their travel documents, the right to overtime 21 compensation and rest breaks, the right to minimum 22 wage coverage, the right to occupational safety and 23 health protections, and mechanisms to pursue com- 24 plaints and ensure compliance with the law. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3760 IH (12) The unique nature of their work, in pri- 1 vate homes with individuals and families, also often 2 makes it difficult for domestic workers to use Fed- 3 eral programs and policies to improve their skills 4 and training and to join together collectively to ne- 5 gotiate better pay and working conditions. 6 (13) Many domestic workers are also vulnerable 7 to discrimination and sexual harassment. These 8 issues are further exacerbated by the unique working 9 conditions faced by domestic workers, such as isola- 10 tion, poverty, immigration status, the lack of famili- 11 arity with the law and legal processes, limited net- 12 works for support, language barriers, and fear of re- 13 taliation and deportation. 14 (14) Millions of older individuals, individuals 15 with disabilities, and families are increasingly relying 16 on domestic workers. By bringing domestic work out 17 of the shadows and creating incentives and invest- 18 ments that help raise wages and standards for do- 19 mestic workers, the Federal Government can lift mil- 20 lions of the most vulnerable workers out of poverty, 21 reduce turnover due to poor working conditions, 22 thereby enhancing quality of care, and support the 23 millions of working and retired people of the United 24 States who rely on them. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3760 IH SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 (a) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT DEFINITIONS.— 2 In this Act, the terms ‘‘commerce’’, ‘‘employ’’, ‘‘em- 3 ployee’’, ‘‘employer’’, ‘‘enterprise’’, ‘‘enterprise engaged in 4 commerce or in the production of goods for commerce’’, 5 ‘‘goods’’, ‘‘person’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given 6 such terms in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act 7 of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 8 (b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 9 (1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’— 10 (A) means an individual who is under 18 11 years of age; and 12 (B) includes an individual described in 13 subparagraph (A) who is— 14 (i) a biological, foster, or adopted 15 child; 16 (ii) a stepchild; 17 (iii) a child of a domestic partner; 18 (iv) a legal ward; or 19 (v) a child of a person standing in 20 loco parentis. 21 (2) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 22 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri- 23 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 24 12102). 25 (3) DOMESTIC PARTNER.— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3760 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘domestic 1 partner’’, with respect to an individual, means 2 another individual with whom the individual is 3 in a committed relationship. 4 (B) COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP DE- 5 FINED.—The term ‘‘committed relationship’’ 6 for purposes of subparagraph (A)— 7 (i) means a relationship between 2 in- 8 dividuals, each at least 18 years of age, in 9 which both individuals share responsibility 10 for a significant measure of each other’s 11 common welfare; and 12 (ii) includes any such relationship be- 13 tween 2 individuals, including individuals 14 of the same sex, that is granted legal rec- 15 ognition by a State or political subdivision 16 of a State as a marriage or analogous rela- 17 tionship, including a civil union or domes- 18 tic partnership. 19 (4) DOMESTIC SERVICES.—The term ‘‘domestic 20 services’’— 21 (A) means services of a household nature 22 provided in interstate commerce and performed 23 by an individual in or about a private home 24 (permanent or temporary); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3760 IH (B) includes services performed by individ- 1 uals such as companions, babysitters, cooks, 2 waiters, butlers, valets, maids, housekeepers, 3 nannies, nurses, janitors, laundresses, care- 4 takers, handymen, gardeners, home health 5 aides, personal care aides, and chauffeurs of 6 automobiles for family use. 7 (5) DOMESTIC WORKER.—The term ‘‘domestic 8 worker’’— 9 (A) means, exc [Text truncated for display. 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