SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) As recognized by Part 1 (commencing with Section 6300) of Division 5 of the Labor Code, it is the policy of the State of California to ensure that every place of employment is safe and healthful for the employees therein.
(b) Domestic work has become a core part of Californians’ lives. 2,000,000 households in California rely on domestic workers to provide care for children, housecleaning, and support for seniors and people with disabilities. The vast majority of domestic workers are women of color and immigrants and are
particularly vulnerable to unsafe or unhealthy working conditions.
(c) Domestic workers’ health and safety have been put at severe risk during the recent disasters that have struck California. Domestic workers acted as frontline workers during the COVID-19 global pandemic. One year into the pandemic, domestic workers were three times more likely to have contracted COVID-19 than the general population in California.
(d) Climate-accelerated disasters have magnified the vulnerability and dangers that domestic workers and day laborers face on a daily basis because they are excluded from California’s occupational health and safety protections. The growing frequency and intensity of wildfires and other natural disasters requires that legislators take immediate legislative action to
protect the health and safety of these workers.
(e) A June, 2020, report from the University of California, Los
Angeles, Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program found that 85 percent of domestic workers surveyed experience musculoskeletal injuries that are associated with chronic pain. Many respondents, 94 percent of whom were Latinx and Asian, reported continuing to work through their injuries for fear of job or financial loss. Those injuries could be prevented by appropriate health and safety guidance and subsequent enforcement.
(f) Because domestic workers care for the most important elements of their employers’ lives, families, and homes, it is in the interest of employees, employers, and the people of the State of California to ensure that the health and safety of domestic workers are protected.
(g) On September 27, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate
Bill 321 (Durazo, Chapter 332 of the Statutes of 2021), creating an advisory committee composed of members of the public and experts to discuss and develop recommendations, ensuring the health and safety of domestic workers in the home setting.
(h) The purpose of the advisory committee is to provide policy recommendations to the Department of Industrial Relations and the Legislature on policies the state may adopt to protect the health and safety of privately funded household domestic service employees, along with drafting voluntary industry-specific guidelines for the purpose of educating household domestic service employers and workers.
(i) In January of 2023, the advisory committee published recommendations based on discussions at advisory committee meetings, review
of literature, review of existing policies, and input from experts in the field, workers, employers, and the public.
(j) As part of these recommendations, the advisory committee recommends that the Legislature remove the household domestic services exclusion from the definition of employment in Part 1 (commencing with Section 6300) of Division 5 of the Labor Code.
(k) Accordingly, it is the intent of the Legislature, upon recommendation by the advisory committee, to establish legal responsibilities and methods for promoting compliance by employers for the protection of the health and safety of domestic workers and day laborers by removing the household domestic services exclusion from the California Labor Code.
(l) Further, the advisory committee recommends partnering with trusted community organizations on enforcement and educational efforts through an expansion of the existing Domestic Worker and Employer Outreach and Education Program (DWEOP).
(m) Given the unique structure of the industry and the barriers to rights enforcement and access to information experienced by both domestic work employees and employers, DWEOP has proven to be a successful model for outreach and education.
(n) Since the creation of DWEOP, over 60 different domestic worker rights and employer responsibilities materials have been created in the industry’s most common languages. Over the course of two years, over 127,000 outreach contacts with workers and nearly 15,000 outreach contacts with employers were
made. More than 280 trainings were conducted in just 18 months and more than 8,400 workers received training on core worker rights topics, as well as information about how to assert and defend those rights at the workplace.
(o) DWEOP has also proven successful in educating employers of their legal responsibilities. Over 22 trainings have been conducted by trusted employer partners, with specialized workshops for home attendant, nanny, and housecleaner employers.
(p) Across the state, more than 580 individual consultations were conducted with workers who had concerns about their workplace conditions; with nearly one-third reporting wage theft, one-third specifically reporting sick leave, rest break, or overtime violations, and many others reporting health and safety, workers’ compensation,
and harassment issues. So far, the project team has resolved nearly 50 cases, resulting in more than $236,000 in owed wages recuperated back into the hands of workers.
(q) DWEOP has worked together with the office of the Labor Commissioner to host a community forum that provided a deeper understanding of the domestic work industry for office of the Labor Commissioner staff.
(r) DWEOP also convened dozens of legal advocates to learn from domestic worker leaders and organizers about the history and trends of the domestic work industry and to uplift lessons and current models for collaborations between legal advocates and community-based organizations.
(s) Accordingly, it is the intent of the Legislature, upon recommendation
by the advisory committee, to expand DWEOP as it exists to include health and safety outreach and education.
(t) Additionally, the advisory committee recommends supporting employers to be able to provide healthy and safe conditions by establishing a financial assistance program for low-resourced employers and providing educational resources and technical assistance for employers to facilitate compliance.