California's Babysitter Bill of Rights (AB 889)

                The California legislature is currently considering a bill, dubbed “the babysitting bill,” that would establish a bill of rights for all domestic employees, including babysitters under the age of 18.  Assembly Bill 889 will attempt to give nannies, housekeepers, caregivers and other domestic employees the right to minimum wage, workers’ compensation coverage, overtime pay and a meticulous timecard.   Out of all the rights being provided, most of which are given to legal domestic help already, one stands out as utterly absurd: the employer (the parents) must provide a fifteen minute break every two hours to allow for rest and meal breaks.  This requires parents to arrange for an alternate caregiver to watch the kids for fifteen minutes at a time.  That doesn’t sound plausible in the least bit.  Currently, this bill has passed the California assembly and has enough support from the senate to make the Governor’s signature the final obstacle.

                The bill has some obvious positives, as domestic employees deserve to have similar legal rights to all other employees, but the legislature must acknowledge the nature of childcare.  It simply is not possible for families to hire two nannies every time childcare is needed, let alone convince one of them to be paid for working fifteen minutes every two hours.  Most other jobs, such as salespeople or technicians, need these mandatory breaks.  Their work allows for fifteen minutes when their duties do not have to be their focal point.  Kids are a nanny’s focal point during the entirety of their shift.  Childcare has some breaks built into the job itself.  Kids must eat; can’t the nanny eat with the kids?  Kids must rest; can’t the nanny rest when the kids rest?  There can only be two reasons that this bill is likely to be passed in the upcoming weeks:  lawmakers either cannot understand the simple concepts of child care, or this bill is viewed as a mechanism to create more tax revenue from an industry that is often based in cash transactions.

                You may ask, “I don’t live in California, what does this have to do with me?”  California, as well as New York (which already has a domestic employee bill of rights), is considered one of the most progressive states in the country.  Therefore, many bills that are passed there, especially bills with liberal values such as AB 889, are often just beginning their tour of capitol buildings around the country.  If this bill is passed, you can look forward to Pennsylvania following suit at some future date.