Nannies, senior care providers and other household employees working in Seattle now have additional job benefits, such as meal breaks, thanks to the new Domestic Worker Bill of Rights passed by the City Counsel earlier this week.
This is a step by government officials to further professionalize the in-home care industry and give domestic workers benefits and protections that many working Americans already enjoy. Seattle joins the states of California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York and Oregon, which have enacted similar laws.
Domestic works have “been excluded from our national labor protections. They’ve been isolated due to the nature of their work environment,” said Seattle City Councilor Teresa Mosqueda, who sponsored the bill. “Domestic workers are more likely to be women, people of color, immigrants.”
How does this affect families that employ child care help, house cleaners or other types of household employees? “At the initial stage, you’ll have a lot of employers not knowing their obligations and on the workers’ side not knowing what they’re entitled to,” Director of the Seattle Office of Labor and Standards Martin Garfinkel told Curbed Seattle.
Don’t worry: We’re here to help you break it down. Here are four things you need to know before the Seattle law goes into effect July 1, 2019:
1. Make sure you’re following minimum wage laws.
Household employees have always been covered by Seattle’s minimum wage, which is currently $14 per hour. However, in the rare instance where a domestic worker could be classified as an independent contractor, these workers are now covered by the same minimum wage standards.
2. Provide rest breaks and meal breaks.
Your household employee must be allowed to have a 30 minute meal break if they work five or more consecutive hours. Meal breaks are unpaid as long as your employee is able to be completely off duty. However, given the nature of household employment, especially child care, this is probably not feasible for most families.
If your caregiver is unable to leave your home, but is able to take a meal break because the kids are napping or playing, that 30 minute period must be paid. However, if your caregiver is unable to take a break at all, they must be paid for 30 minutes they worked instead of taking a break as well as an additional 30 minutes. That means an 8 hour workday, for example, would be paid like an 8.5 hour workday.
Additionally, your household employee is required to have a 10 minute rest period for every 4 hours they work. Again, this is required to be paid time if your caregiver cannot be completely off duty.
The Seattle Office of Labor Standards has an FAQ further detailing these required breaks if you’d like more information.
3. Live-in employees are required to have a day off each week.
If your nanny, senior caregiver or other helper lives in your home, they cannot work more than six consecutive days without having 24 hours off.
4. You are not allowed to keep your employee’s personal documents.
The bill says you are allowed to make copies of these documents, but the originals must go back to your caregiver.
It’s likely that many families are already adhering to these standards. However, it’s important that you review your employment contract to double-check. Failure to comply with this legislation can result in fines that vary depending on what part of the law was violated.
