For Immediate Release: Monday, January 28, 2008
Montgomery Council to Consider Bill Ensuring Rights for Domestic Workers
News Conference TODAY, Mon., Jan. 28, Will Detail Nation’s
First Legislation Requiring Contracts for Home Employees
ROCKVILLE, Md., January 28, 2008—Montgomery County Councilmembers Marc Elrich and George Leventhal will hold a news conference at 12 noon TODAY, Monday, Jan. 28, in Rockville to announce details of a bill that would require employers of certain domestic workers to negotiate and sign a written contract that specifies the terms and conditions of the employment. If passed by the Council, it would be the first legislation nationally of this type.
The news conference will be held in the Fifth Floor Conference Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.
The Council Committee on Health and Human Services sponsored a study of domestic workers in the County which was released on May 10, 2006. The study found that domestic workers in the County have limited access to information about their rights under state and county law and very few have written employment contracts. Consequently, many domestic workers in the County are paid less than the minimum wage required by state law and do not receive overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours per week.
The bill would require an employer of certain domestic workers in the County to present a written employment contract to the potential employee and offer to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment.
The bill would not dictate the terms and conditions, but does require specific terms and conditions to be spelled out. The bill also would require the County’s Office of Consumer Protection to draft a model employment contract, investigate complaints and generally enforce the law.
The bill defines the services provided that would be covered under the domestic workers legislation as: caring for a child; serving as companion to a sick, convalescing or elderly individual; housekeeping; cooking; cleaning; laundry; or any other work that traditionally would be done by members of a household without pay.
The bill would apply to employees who work at least 20 hours per week, each week, during a 30-day period. For any worker that is provided living accommodations, the bill provides minimum standards that include a private room for sleeping with a door that can be locked and reasonable access to kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities.
“We have a class of people, mostly women, that work very hard and that people trust with their most valued possessions—their family members and their homes,” said Councilmember Elrich. “Yet, some people often treat these workers in the worst of ways when it comes to fairly compensating them and making sure they have adequate living facilities. This bill would help end those practices.”
Domestic workers already are covered by provisions of Maryland law that pertain to terms such as minimum wage, worker’s compensation and overtime. However, domestic workers are specifically excluded from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and therefore do not have the same protections to organize and advocate on their own behalf.
“If you bring a plumber into your house to do work, you sign a contract with the terms. If you bring an electrician into your house to do work, you sign a contract with the terms. This legislation provides that same protection for domestic workers, guaranteeing that they should work under a contract and have the terms of their employment in writing,” said Councilmember Leventhal, chair of the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee. “The treatment some of these employees receive is blatantly unfair, and since most of the people we are talking about are women, it is discriminatory against women. We need to protect their rights.”
The bill also would prohibit retaliation against a domestic worker who requests a written contract, attempts to enforce the terms of a contract, or files a complaint or participates in an investigation of a complaint. The bill authorizes Montgomery County’s Office of Consumer Protection to investigate complaints and refer a complaint or violation to a hearing officer for enforcement.
After the legislation is introduced to the Council, a date will be set for a public hearing. The legislation will then go to the Council’s Public Safety Committee for discussion and recommended action.