A strong economy needs care labor

The pandemic has dramatically exposed the vital role that care workers play in our society. As child care centers and schools closed and nursing homes became COVID-19 hotspots, families have strained to juggle work and other responsibilities while taking care of loved ones.

Ninety-two percent of domestic workers are women, and more than half are women of color. The typical domestic worker is paid just $12 per hour, including overtime, tips, and commissions — nearly 40 percent less than the typical non-domestic worker.

Eighty-two percent of domestic workers don’t have a single paid sick day, leaving millions of domestic workers with an impossible choice during a global pandemic: either keep themselves and their loved ones safe, or work to put food on the table.

The House Oversight and Reform committee recently highlighted these staggering inequities in a hearing in honor of Equal Pay Day, which highlights the broader gender pay gap between men and women.

The wage gap between domestic workers and non-domestic workers persists in large part because federal labor law excludes domestic workers from key protections.

The National Labor Relations Act, which protects employees’ rights to organize for better conditions and bargain collectively, explicitly excludes workers “in the domestic service of any family or person at his home.” Similarly, the Fair Labor Standards Act — which established the federal minimum wage — explicitly excluded both farmworkers and domestic workers.

These exclusions set the tone for how care work would be valued by both the public and policymakers.

One solution is the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which would guarantee a minimum wage and overtime pay, as well as basic protections against racial and gender discrimination for domestic workers.

Now more than ever before, a strong care infrastructure is needed to ensure equal pay for equal work.