With a vote of 33 to 28, the state Senate passed a bill granting an estimated 200,000 maids, nannies and other domestic workers the right to paid vacations, sick day, holidays and overtime.
The bill requires employers to give their workers a severance package or 14 days notice before firing them. It also gives workers legal protection from discrimination and permits them to sue their bosses in civil court.
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This is an important bill for so many reasons. Passing legislation guaranteeing fundamental fairness in the workplace for people who perform such intimate tasks makes a whole lot of sense. And if we want to stand for workers' rights on the farms, we also need to stand for workers' rights in the home. Amy Traub from DMI explained it perfectly as a post on the Huffington Post:
The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, sponsored by State Senator Diane Savino, guarantees basic workplace protections like overtime pay, the chance to take at least a day off every week, coverage under employment discrimination laws, advance notice if a domestic employee is about to be fired, and minimal paid sick time and vacation. It would apply to 200,000 domestic workers in New York currently subject to the whims of their employers when it comes to these fundamental rights.
...the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights addresses a tremendous historical injustice: when the Fair Labor Standards Act and other key workplace protections were passed in the 1930s, domestic employees and agricultural workers (also awaiting a legislative remedy in New York State) were deliberately excluded to secure the votes of Dixiecrat Senators opposed to workplace rights in occupations dominated by women and people of color. This legacy of race and gender continue to shape how domestic work is treated today.
That's because 99% of domestic workers are foreign born, 95% are people of color, and 93% are women.
It's notable, of course, that all but one Senate Republican voted against the bill. Frank Padavan, facing the challenge of his life against Tony Avella in Northeast Queens, broke with his party and supported the bill. All other 29 Senate Republicans apparently thought that basic human rights and fairness don't apply in the home and domestic workers don't deserve such basic rights as several paid holidays, notice of termination, or unemployment insurance.
The question left is what sort of bill we can reconcile between the Senate and the Assembly. The Assembly's bill from 2009 is considered to be a more bare-bones version. Considering the massive Democratic majority in the Assembly, it shouldn't be a problem to push a more progressive answer through.
Credit where credit's due. Today is a day that I'm proud to be a New Yorker. It's been awhile since our state government's been the reason for that. |
