New York Gov. David Paterson has signed into law the nation's first extensive domestic workers' rights measure, saying it corrects historic injustices.
The Bill of Rights establishes basic labor standards, including paid days off and protection from discrimination, for over 200,000 domestic workers in New York State. It rectifies the exclusion of domestic workers from most basic labor protections, recognizes the workforce for the first time under the law, and establishes specific protections to address the unique conditions--from isolation and vulnerability to abuse and mistreatment--that domestic workers face on the job.
There are an estimated 200,000 domestic workers in New York City. An advocacy groups claims there are frequent reports of spoken or physical abuse by employers, and two-thirds of the workers said they never received overtime pay.
Statewide, there are another 60,000 to 70,000 domestic workers, most of them female immigrants.
“I am proud to sign into law a bill that will correct an historic injustice by treating those who care for the elderly, raise our children and clean our homes the same essential rights to which all workers should be entitled,” Governor David A. Paterson said.
