State Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

In effect since November 29, 2010, New York State’s Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (A1470B/S2311E) guarantees the following basic rights and protections for privately employed nannies, housekeepers and elder caregivers:

Defining an eight-hour day as a legal day’s work.
Overtime pay at the rate of 1.5 times the regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work for live-out domestic workers and 44 hours for live-in domestic workers.
One day of rest in each calendar week (should coincide with worker’s day of worship).
Overtime pay if a worker agrees to work on her day of rest.
Three paid days off after one year of employment.
Protection against workplace discrimination & harassment based on race, gender, national origin, disability, marital status & domestic violence victim status.
Protection against sexual harassment by employer.
Workers compensation insurance for full-time and part-time domestic workers (pending legislative revision).

Domestic workers’ movement to build power, gain respect, and establish fair labor standards is gaining momentum in the US and across the world. In New York, we have won the nation’s first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.

About

In 2010, domestic workers in New York made history when the nation’s first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights was passed into law. Nannies, housekeepers, and elder caregivers led a six-year struggle to win basic standards and protections for the important work we do to keep New York families functioning. Since the 1930s when the major labor laws in the US were enacted, domestic workers were excluded. The passage of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights is a victory for fairness, dignity, and respect. No longer invisible, domestic workers are now recognized as real workers under state labor law.

To give force to the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in New York, this web site makes information about labor standards in the domestic work industry accessible to workers, employers, and advocates.

In 2003, domestic workers in New York set out to win recognition, rights, and protection under the state labor law. Standing on the shoulders of workers who before had waged historic battles for dignity and respect, domestic workers embarked upon what would turn out to be the historic 6-year campaign to pass the nation’s first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.

New York State’s Domestic Workers Bill establishes rights for privately employed nannies, housekeepers and elder caregivers, including: