Sandra Bryant loves her job. As a domestic healthcare provider in Philadelphia, she provides essential medical care in people’s homes. But when she needed her own medical treatment, her employers wouldn’t provide the necessary paid leave.
“They said, ‘Okay. Go to the doctor, and as soon as you get better, you can come back,” Bryant recalled. “That's it.”
Now, a local labor law aims to help workers like Bryant enforce their rights to breaks, fair pay, paid leave and more. Passed on May 8, the Philadelphia POWER Act (Protect Our Workers — Enforce Rights) strengthens protections for non-unionized and non-traditional employees, like those in domestic, restaurant and gig industries. Through the POWER Act, Philadelphia is building a robust support system for 750,000 people who don’t have traditional paths to worker rights.
Federal labor laws to protect non-traditional workers don’t exist. It’s up to local labor laws to fill the gaps. “We want to demonstrate, and I think have successfully demonstrated, that there is still ability to win change at the local level that could impact millions of people,” said Nicole Kligerman, Philadelphia chapter director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. The alliance was part of the...
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