A state law providing domestic workers with basic protections from labor abuses is little known and barely used, according to a yearlong study from Brazilian Worker Center and Boston College Law Civil Rights Clinic.
Domestic workers are among the most isolated workers most in the commonwealth: they work in the privacy of people’s homes, and according to the report, over 80% are hired directly by their employer. There’s no human resources division to call, no break room to discuss worker rights by the water cooler.
The Massachusetts Domestic Workers Bill of 2014 is supposed to provide domestic workers with straightforward labor protections, like a contract in a language that workers understand, payroll records, overtime pay and time off.
But researchers found that the majority of those workers and employers had little or no knowledge of the law, and that there were serious violations by employers.
“Domestic workers deserve to feel safe and dignified at work, just like workers in all other industries, and this report is another step in achieving that reality,” said Lenita Reason, executive director of the Brazilian Worker Center. “This report shows that large gaps exist in knowledge about the law, which hampers its enforcement. We need more education and resources for worker centers in order to fully realize the promise of the law.”
The study involved interviews and a survey to 205 mostly Brazilian domestic workers, and 124 of their employers.
Over three-quarters of the...
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