San Francisco votes to require paid sick leave for nannies and gardeners: NPR
Bront Wittpenn / San Francisco Chronicle via AP
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco nannies, cleaners, gardeners and other domestic helpers must receive paid sick leave under a groundbreaking law that was approved by city leaders this week. .
The city’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously passed the law, which Chronicles of San Francisco believed to be the first of its kind in the US
The measure will affect 10,000 people in the city who clean, cook, care for children, garden or provide non-medical care for the elderly or disabled. .
Proponents of the law argue that the workforce is often underpaid with many women and immigrants.
Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who co-sponsored the measure with Supervisor Hillary Ronen, said: “I think these people have been taking care of people in San Francisco for a long time, and it’s time for us to take care of ourselves. care about them.
According to the Chronicle, this measure addresses the fact that many domestic workers can work for more than one household.
It creates a portable paid sick leave benefit, so workers get a portion of their paid sick leave from each employer and then aggregate them. The employer will pay one hour’s salary into the sick leave fund for every 30 hours worked by a domestic worker.
Suggest more steps before it’s final
To take effect, the measure requires a second vote of the supervisors and must be signed by Mayor London Breed. After that, it will take the city several months to hire a private company to manage the benefits program, according to the Chronicle.
Kimberly Alvarenga, executive director of the California Domestic Domestic Workers Coalition, said the coronavirus pandemic highlights the vulnerability of domestic workers because “if they don’t go to work, they don’t get paid.” pay wage.”
“If they get sick from the virus, if a family member gets sick from the virus, they don’t have a choice,” says Alvarenga. “This ordinance will provide some equity so that when they are sick, they can spend a day taking care of themselves, their children or family members.”