Bill would protect domestic workers

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Montgomery County Council yesterday proposed legislation that would require domestic workers and their employers to sign contracts to ensure that the workers receive fair wages, overtime and other protections against abuse.

Council members Marc Elrich and George Leventhal, both at-large Democrats, proposed the legislation, which they called the first of its kind in the nation. It would allow workers who spend at least 20 hours a week as housekeepers, nannies or adult-care attendants to negotiate their work conditions and pay.

The lawmakers said a written contract would offer protection for workers, most of them immigrant women, who are vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment from employers because they don't have clear agreements outlining their employment terms.

"All our constituents deserve basic protections, basic rights," Mr. Leventhal said.

Other council members said the proposal could cause problems for employers and the domestic workers, especially if they are illegal aliens.

An employment contract for a domestic worker who is an illegal alien is not legally binding, said council member Duchy Trachtenberg, at-large Democrat. It would force illegal aliens to either reveal their illegal status or use false identification, such as a stolen Social Security number. That could expose them to prosecution and deportation, she said.

"The bill potentially provides false promises to domestic workers," said Miss Trachtenberg, who favors greater education for domestic workers on their existing labor rights.

A 2006 study conducted for the county by George Washington University researchers found that many domestic workers in Montgomery County, one of the wealthiest counties in the nation, worked more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay, health insurance or vacation and sick leave.

To address similar conditions, jurisdictions including New York have considered a "bill of rights" for domestic workers that usually includes a standard minimum wage. In Montgomery, immigrant rights advocates have pushed for a minimum wage of $10.50 , higher than Maryland's $6.15 minimum hourly rate.

County officials did not say how many workers would be affected by the law. The 2006 GW study surveyed 286 workers in the county, although immigrant rights groups said the total is much higher.

Domestic workers are covered by the state's minimum wage and overtime laws, the bill sponsors said, but many are unaware of those regulations. The new law would not set specific wage requirements.

Contracts would specify issues such as duties, time off, pay and severance for domestic workers. Those who live in their employers' homes would have to be provided a secure place to sleep with access to a bathroom and kitchen. A model contract would be available from the county for employers to use.

Hermina Servat, of the immigrant advocacy group Casa de Maryland, said the law would afford domestic workers some basic protections against abusive employers.

"Dignified treatment is what we need," she said in Spanish through a translator.