Last week, The Washington state House voted 57 to 39 to pass House Bill 2355, known as the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, a measure designed to expand workplace protections for house cleaners, nannies, caregivers and others performing domestic labor in private homes.
Sponsored by Rep. Brianna Thomas, D West Seattle, the bill establishes enforceable standards aimed at addressing longstanding inequities in an industry where workers often lack basic labor protections. The measure now moves to the Senate for consideration. The last day of the regular session is March 12.
The legislation defines a domestic worker as anyone paid for four or more hours of domestic work in a private home each month. The definition includes nannies, child care providers, home or personal care workers, housekeepers, cooks, gardeners and household managers, whether hourly employees, salaried workers or independent contractors.
“Many of us have heard stories from domestic workers in Washington who have been abused, have worked without pay, and been taken advantage of because of their status, a language barrier, or economic vulnerabilities,” said Thomas. “We rely on these workers – our friends and neighbors – to take care of our homes, our children and our elderly. This bill helps us take care of them.”
If enacted, the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights would guarantee minimum wage and overtime pay, require written agreements and a notice of rights and mandate advance notice of termination. Most workers would be entitled to two weeks’ notice, while live in workers would receive four weeks’ notice.
The bill also would prohibit hostile work environments, harassment and retaliation. Additional provisions would ban confiscation of personal documents and effects, prohibit invasive surveillance and monitoring in private spaces and bar forced arbitration, nondisclosure and noncompete agreements.
The measure would create administrative remedies and civil causes of action for violations. It also would establish civil rights protections by making it an unfair practice to discriminate in pay or termination based on a protected class under the Washington Law Against Discrimination.
