Philadelphia's domestic worker community could get additional protections against wrongful termination and wage theft with a new bill that was introduced Thursday in City Council.
The POWER Act — which stands for Protect Our Workers, Enforce Rights — would provide the Department of Labor more tools to legally pursue employers in cases of retaliation.
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Domestic workers are private employees in homes that work in fields such as child care, house cleaning and caretaking. Although Philadelphia already has a number of protections in place for those workers, some testified Thursday that the laws are not being enforced. The bill, which was introduced by Councilmember Kendra Brooks (At-Large) and co-sponsored by 12 other members, is headed to a committee, and a hearing will be held before it can be voted on by the council.
"Women of color are the majority of the service sector and domestic workers in our city, and they have told us loud and clear that we need to update our labor laws, to strengthen enforcement, prevent retaliation and make our Department of Labor as strong as possible," Brooks said.
The legislation would allow the Department of Labor to do more in-depth investigations of employers, suspend licenses and contracts, and certify immigration protections. It also would require the department to submit data on how many cases are taking place and their statuses. When workers file a complaint to the department, they would get written confirmation that it has been received, periodic updates and clarity on appeals. Plus, the city could publish a "bad actors database" of particularly egregious offenders.
Additionally, money from damages that gets collected from employers would go straight to the workers — it currently goes to the city, a spokesperson for Brooks said. It would also create a worker justice fund to compensate employees facing retaliation and would establish a better method to calculate sick pay for tipped workers.
The Office of Worker Protections, within the Department of Labor, was established in 2020 for education and enforcement for issues such as wage theft, paid sick leave and better hours. It serves more than 740,000 people, Brooks said, but lacks the ability to enforce labor laws or recover lost wages.
Several people testified Thursday in both English and Spanish with accounts of getting fired for taking sick days, a lack of compensation after getting injured and punishment when asking for higher wages. Abena Ruiz, a professional nanny and leader in the Philadelphia chapter of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, said those in this group are some of the least protected employees in the country.
"Domestic workers are treated as disposable and that is unacceptable," Ruiz said. "We are not just employees — we are nurses, teachers, protectors, counselors, all wrapped up into one. Our work makes every other work possible."
