PROVIDENCE — Among those who can afford to pay someone else to clean their homes, iron their sheets, tend their gardens and pick their children up at school and dance class, it has long been considered a secret not even shared among friends.
How much do you pay the help?
But the Rhode Island House of Representatives is about to break that silence this week by voting on a bill (H5371) to require the payment of the state's $13 an hour minimum wage (at the very least) to "any individual employed in domestic service or in or about a private home."
And that applies to "cleaning ladies," nannies (also known as "au pairs" in some circles), the gardener and the butler aka "the house man."
Nationally, their numbers are estimated at 2.2 million. In Rhode Island, "we estimate between 500 and 1,000 people will be covered by the law if it passes," says Patrick Crowley, secretary-treasurer of the R.I. AFL-CIO.
He said the number actually impacted will be limited because agencies like Merry Maids – that is, companies that supply home cleaners – are already covered by the minimum wage. "Domestic Service" for purposes of this bill "means workers directly employed by a home owner."
No one working at any of there jobs or their employers showed up to testify when the House Labor Committee held a hearing on the legislation. Crowley believes he knows why:
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