We are proud to uplift the work important work being done by Equity at Work Council member, the California Domestic Workers Coalition. On September 27, 2021, SB 321, the Heath and Safety for All Workers Act was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. SB 321, which was co-sponsored by the CA Domestic Workers Coalition. It creates guidelines- for the first time- for the health and safety of domestic workers in California. Domestic workers, a group of over 300,000 workers mainly comprised of immigrants and women of color, were excluded from the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, and now the exclusion of these workers from Cal/OSHA protections can come to an end.

They aren’t stopping there.

On October 26, the CA Domestic Workers Coalition will be launching its “Access to Paid Time Off” campaign in San Francisco. You can learn more at this event and join the CA Domestic Workers Coalition in introducing the San Francisco Access to Paid Time Off ordinance. This ordinance would create a portable benefits system that would allow domestic workers to accrue sick time and paid time off from all their different employers. While domestic workers are legally entitled to paid sick leave, they have not been able to access this right. The ordinance will serve as a necessary first step for San Francisco to guarantee domestic workers the safety net benefits that they deserve and that other workforces in the city already enjoy.

Protecting workers has to be a priority for lawmakers. In this month’s newsletter, we highlight Governor Newsom’s signing of AB 701, a bill written by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), in the article ‘We’re Going to Protect Workers” in Community Updates. Gonzalez says of this bill, “This is a first step. We’ve got to do more.” And, we do. Congrats on this amazing achievement, CA Domestic Workers Coalition!

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