June, 10  2021

Dear NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson:

We, the undersigned organizations, institutions and individuals, representing different constituencies including domestic workers and employers, parents, older adults, family caregivers and people with disabilities respectfully urge you to support Int. 339-2018 and to set a date for a vote before June 16th, International Domestic Workers Day. Int. 339-2018 would amend the NYC administrative code—expanding the definition of employer under the human rights law to include individuals who employ domestic workers, providing workers with long overdue protections against discrimination in the workplace, and coverage under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

While New York was the first state to pass the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2010, domestic workers remain excluded from basic labor protections that are fundamental to their human rights. These legal gaps leave domestic workers vulnerable to discrimination based on disability, race, religion, age, nationality, pregnancy, and more. As the city makes plans to reopen in the safest possible way during COVID-19, the City Council and the Mayor must ensure that our city’s nannies, house cleaners and home care workers return to work as safely as possible, and this includes ensuring that they are protected against all forms of discrimination.

In recent months, millions of people in New York City and across the country have taken to the streets to demand an end to the systemic racism that has led to the oppression of Black and brown people. Black domestic workers are experiencing three simultaneous crises— the pandemic, the resulting economic depression, and the ongoing impacts of structural racism. The exclusion of domestic workers from labor laws like current NYC Human Rights Law has its roots in the legacy of slavery, and is a clear example of anti-Black systemic racism because of its exclusion of domestic workers. We have a moral obligation in New York City to right this historic wrong by including domestic workers in our most fundamental labor protections, and that includes amending Intro 339-2018.

Domestic workers have also been some of the hardest hit workers by COVID-19 and Black immigrant domestic workers have been hit even harder. A recent report by The Institute for Policy Studies and National Domestic Workers Alliance’s We Dream in Black program, estimates that 62% of Black immigrant domestic workers have lost all or part of their income due to the COVID-19. This has had a devastating impact on their families, as many don’t qualify for unemployment benefits, federal relief, and are the primary breadwinners in their households.

It is time that New York City recognizes the essential work that our city’s nannies, house cleaners and home care workers do each day by offering them these basic protections. There are over 200,000 domestic workers in New York City, and the number is only expected to increase in years to come. It is unconscionable that our current laws permit employers to discriminate against this growing workforce that plays such a vital role in our economy.

There is a moment now in this pandemic to correct historical wrongs to black women. This is the opportunity we have to alleviate the negative consequences of this economic recession that hits black and immigrant women the hardest. Int. 339-2018 will ensure that all domestic workers are protected is an important step that New York City Council must take to address discrimination against women and people of color in our city. We hope that we can count on your support and that you will bring this bill to a vote as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

NYC Care Campaign
National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA)
Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network (HIH)
Carroll Gardens Association (CGA)
We Dream in Black (WeDiB)
Carroll Gardens Nanny Association (CGNA)
Adhikaar
National Employment Law Project (NELP)
A Better Balance (ABB)
Make The Road NY
Alianza CUSP, Inc
Center for Family Life (CFL)
Maple Street School
Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ)
Innovative Youth Care (IYC)
Rockaway Women for Progress (RWP)
TakeRoot Justice
New York Caring Majority
Cooperative Home Care Associates (CHCA)