Report: Domestic workers often exploited; need Worker Bill of Rights

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Exploitation of New Jersey’s house cleaners, nannies and home health aides runs rampant through the state and largely affects immigrant women, according to a report released Wednesday by the Rutgers Center for Women and Work in partnership with the National Domestic Workers Alliance and its affiliates.

Activists say the findings point to the need for a statewide Domestic Worker Bill of Rights to establish basic labor standards and the protection of those who are afraid to speak up about mistreatment.

“House cleaners, nannies, and home health aides are essential workers to the individuals and families who rely upon them for care and support,” said Debra Lancaster, executive director of the Rutgers Center for Women and Work. “These women are essential to our economy, yet they work within one of the most unregulated industries in the country. When they run into problems at work, which is not unusual, they have little in the way of a safety net.”

Of the more than 60,000 domestic workers in New Jersey, 97 percent are women, 60 percent are non-white and 52 percent are immigrants. They’re among the lowest-paid workers in the state and are exempt from basic legal protections under federal labor laws and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Typically, the workers are employed by agencies or work directly for individuals and families, as about 1 in 3 New Jerseyans have hired a domestic worker at one point.

Four community-based organizations – Adhikaar, Casa Freehold, New Labor and Wind of the Spirit – trained 30 women to conduct detailed, in-person surveys with more than 400 domestic workers across New Jersey in 2019.

The Rutgers Center for Women and Work then analyzed the findings, which found that most domestic workers are paid in cash, 86 percent, and the vast majority, 90 percent, have no written contract.

More than half of domestic workers – 57 percent – have been victims of wage theft, which happens when the employer withholds all or some of their pay, including a failure to pay overtime.

About half of domestic workers have no health insurance, 54 percent, and no paid sick of vacation time, 49 percent. Around one-third of workers claim their employer refused to grant even unpaid sick time.

Only 1 in 10 domestic workers received workplace safety training, and some, 17 percent, have been injured on the job. Work-related muscle or joint pain, 47 percent; headaches, 34 percent; eye or skin irritation, 21 percent; stress and anxiety, 19 percent; insomnia, 18 percent; and breathing difficulty, 12 percent, are common.

The pandemic has made the situation even more dire. COVID-19 led to sudden unemployment for many domestic workers, while leaving others on the front lines without basic health and safety protections.
— Elaine Zundl, research director, Rutgers Center for Women and Work

The Center for Women and Work also found that unstable scheduling affects many domestic workers; without reliable hours each week, arranging childcare, medical appointments, or working a second job is difficult. Additionally, about 1 in 5 domestic workers do not get a lunch break.

“Domestic workers are an integral part of our communities and their numbers are growing in the workforce, but this survey shows that they need more protection and additional ways to access existing workplace benefits,” said Elaine Zundl, research director of the Rutgers Center for Women and Work. “The pandemic has made the situation even more dire. COVID-19 led to sudden unemployment for many domestic workers, while leaving others on the front lines without basic health and safety protections.”

Surveyed domestic workers rarely came forward to report violations such as wage theft, typically because they did not know how to file a complaint, 23 percent, or did not know they could, 22 percent. Other common reasons for not filing a complaint included fear of termination, 20 percent; a language barrier, 18 percent; or concerns about their immigration status, 10 percent.

A Domestic Worker Bill of Rights exists in 10 states, including neighboring New York, and New Jersey two municipalities have such a law.

“It is imperative that domestic workers be treated as essential workers and have the labor rights to protect them from wage theft, discrimination, and workplace injuries,” said Virgilio Aran, national organizer with the National Domestic Workers Alliance. “Our hope is to introduce the New Jersey Domestic Worker Bill of Rights in early 2021 and for it to be passed immediately.”

The Rutgers Center for Women and Work, the NDWA and its affiliates recommend that a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights:

1. Guarantees a minimum wage, overtime, health and safety protections, workers’ compensation, and paid-time-off;
2. Creates a portable benefits system with health insurance, paid family and sick leave, disability and unemployment insurance, and retirement benefits;
3. Extends health and safety protections to domestic workers, including COVID standards;
4. Co-enforces labor standards by teaming-up domestic worker organizations and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development;
5. Targets high-violation employers through strategic enforcement; and
6. Creates a Worker Standards Board enabling domestic workers to set policy and raise industry standards.

The report is available here.