“DC Council is Considering a Bill of Rights for Domestic Workers” by Francisca Alvarez

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Francisca writes:

“Earlier this year, Councilmember Elissa Silverman announced the Domestic Worker Employment Rights Amendment Act of 2022 and just this month, the Committee on Labor & Workforce Development held a public hearing on the legislation. I want to share why it is so important for the council to pass this for domestic workers.

In a city like Washington, DC, many people rely on nannies like myself. Nearly from the moment I moved here, I have gotten up every morning and gone to work helping families care for their kids. The work I do is essential. Without it, working moms and dads wouldn’t be able to do their own jobs.

Throughout the pandemic, thousands of nannies in this city did the same work that I do. I was extremely fortunate to have employers that continued to pay me for six months during the lockdown when I could not go into work. However, some either never stopped working or lost their jobs and all income. The types of protections others typically have in their jobs, we don’t and it is time to change that.

When I interviewed for my first job as a nanny, the family said the job would be caring for their children and some “light cleaning.” Since this was my first time doing this work, we did not have a written contract but a verbal agreement outlining these duties. After working for a few months, the family began to add on more and more responsibilities, such as heavier cleaning and housework, that I had not agreed to when I first took the position.

The workload became overwhelming. I was constantly rushing to finish tasks on time. Without a written contract, there was nothing I could show that demonstrated they were asking me to perform duties outside the scope of the responsibilities we had outlined when I was hired. It was exhausting.

I left that job after four months. I began working for another family in the area and asked them to sign a written agreement to avoid repeating what I experienced in my previous job. But, they refused. We had verbally discussed my hourly pay and the hours I needed to work, which would have me out in time to pick up my own daughter from daycare. Over time, the family began to show up later and later in the evening than what we had agreed upon. Sometimes they were almost two hours late. I would be late to pick up my daughter. Her daycare charged me for every minute I was late. Meanwhile, the family I worked for was not willing to compensate me for the additional hours I worked.

I knew something had to change. In my next job and in all my employment after that, I have had a written contract and I have been lucky to work for employers who treated me with respect and dignity. But nannies, housecleaners, and homecare workers like me should not have to rely on good luck to have safe and respectful workplaces. No matter who our employer is, we all deserve written contracts, protections against abuse and discrimination, and safe workplaces.

That’s why I decided to advocate for other nannies and domestic workers who face the same challenges I did. Many nannies working in D.C. today still don’t have written contracts and their workplace rights are dependent on the goodwill of their employers.

Many domestic workers lack even the simplest of workplace protections against abuse, harassment, and discrimination.

The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights is now pending before the City Council. It must become law.

Extending workplace protections to nannies, house cleaners, and home care workers will mean that a significant portion of our workforce finally gets the tools and resources they need to fight back if they experience abuse or discrimination on the job. It will mean that domestic workers no longer have to fight for a written contract with their employer to ensure they are not taken advantage of. It will mean that more women of color have their hard work honored and rewarded with commonsense protections.

The nannies, housecleaners, and homecare workers who keep DC’s families safe and homes clean should be able to provide for themselves and their families. The work that we do will always be challenging, but it is wonderful, fulfilling work. As a nanny, I have been so honored to care for my employers’ most precious treasures — their children — to teach them and watch them grow. And I have been privileged to be treated with dignity and respect by my employers. The City Council must pass Councilwoman Silverman’s Domestic Worker Bill of Rights into law so that domestic workers in the District of Columbia don’t have to rely on luck for our basic workplace protections anymore.”