Bill > S4044

Introduced Session

This bill creates various rights and employment protections for domestic workers who, under the bill, are defined as hourly and salaried employees, independent contractors, full-time and part-time individuals and temporary individuals, and any worker who: (1) works for one or more employer; and (2) is an individual who works in the residence of the employer for the purposes of caring for a child, serving as a companion or caretaker for a sick, convalescing, or elderly person, or a person with a disability; housekeeping or house cleaning; cooking; providing food or butler service; parking cars; cleaning laundry; gardening; personal organizing; or for any other domestic service purpose. The bill excludes from the definition of domestic worker any individual taking care of or providing services to that individual's family member; an individual primarily engaged in house sitting, pet sitting, or dog walking; an individual working at a business operating out of a residence, such as a home daycare business; an individual whose primary work involves house repair or maintenance, such a roofer, plumber, or other similar contractor; a home health care aide while the aide is paid through public funds; an individual established as a kinship legal guardian of a child who lives in the residence, or an individual who participates in the Kinship Navigator Program, as authorized by the Department of Children and Families, as a caregiver of a child who lives in the residence and receives services provided by a kinship navigator service provider; and an individual less than 18 years of age. The bill removes the exclusion of the domestic worker from the "Law Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.) and the "New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law," P.L.1966, c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.). The bill also provides privacy rights to domestic workers, and it requires the employer or hiring entity to enter into a written contract with the domestic worker. The bill establishes penalties for violations of its provisions, including penalties against retaliation by the employer or hiring entity. The bill creates the Domestic Workers Standards and Implementation Board to monitor and review the implementation of the bill and make policy recommendations to the State regarding additional measures to be taken.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Richard Codey (D)*,  Loretta Weinberg (D)*,  Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D),  Joe Cryan (D),  Nia Gill (D),  Nellie Pou (D),  Teresa Ruiz (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Labor Committee (on 11/08/2021)