Domestic Workers are legally marginalized under current labor and employment law. They are currently unprotected under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Further, they are de facto excluded from protection under a number of laws, like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which exempt employers who employ fewer than a specified number of employees. Section 2(3) of the NLRA explicitly excludes domestic workers from its protection because the term “employee” is defined to “not include any individual employed … in the domestic service of any family or person at his home” including nannies, housecleaners, caregivers, companions, etc.
Protection under the current NLRA is infeasible. Even if the definition of “employees” were expanded to include domestic workers the enterprises covered by the NLRA are limited to employers “affecting commerce.” This requirement is further limited, via … Read the rest