A Case for Federal Labor Legislation to Protect Underpaid Home Care Workers

Abstract

The National Domestic Worker's Bill of Rights Act aimed to remedy nearly a century of labor and health inequities facing a majority of the home health workforce--including home health workers, personal care aides, and professional caregivers--who are women of color and immigrants. Although the bill did not pass, the National Domestic Workers Alliance and its affiliates continue to organize a new labor movement inclusive of home care workers that supports federal legislation and adequate labor protections for their members, particularly in right-to-work states like Texas and in municipalities where hazardous working conditions and low wages contribute to the perceived disposability and devaluation of care labor. Home care workers require federal labor protections that will hold states accountable for the health and well-being of this essential workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]