On December 20, Washington DC officially became the 13th city or state in the country to pass a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights! This is HUGE for the domestic worker movement in DC and across the country.
Over 4 years ago, in 2018, domestic workers in the newly formed DC chapter of NDWA began organizing to end the exclusion of domestic workers from DC’s Human Rights Act, the only group of workers to be excluded from this right in DC.
The DC Domestic Workers Bill of Rights passed the DC council unanimously. The bill finally includes domestic workers in DC’s human rights protections, which guaranteed protections against discrimination at work. It also includes domestic workers in DC’s occupational health and safety law. It will create the new right for domestic workers who work in DC to have a written contract with their employers and it will create a domestic worker outreach and education program to give community-based organizations money to help domestic workers know their rights and enforce their rights. This bill is an unprecedented recognition in DC of the value and dignity of the work that domestic workers do.
Our movement, led by powerful domestic workers and supported by all of you, has been fighting for these basic workplace rights for more than four years. It was long past time to protect and support the workers that take care of us and, with your support, we finally did it.
Help us spread the good news and take a moment and tweet how excited you are about the DC Bill of Rights becoming reality. You can also share share these photos on Facebook and Instagram.
Thank you for being with us every step of the way!