California Domestic Workers Coalition

We are thrilled to share a monumental achievement with you – thanks to the tireless efforts of domestic workers, employers, advocates, and solidarity allies like you, we have broken new ground in our journey to end the exclusion of domestic workers from occupational health and safety rights!
Governor Newsom has just signed a bill that brings California into compliance with federal law, ensuring health and safety protections to more than 175,000 agency-hired domestic workers. SB 1350 will make a tangible difference in the lives of domestic workers in California, giving those that are hired by agencies or third party employers a clearer path to report unsafe working conditions and receive the support they need to address hazards on the job.

“This bill offers protections I didn’t have,” said Mirna Arana, a member of the community based organization Mujeres Unidas y Activas, and a housecleaner in the Bay Area. “Had it been in place when I was working for a cleaning company, I don’t think I would have lost my baby. I worked 16-hour days with no breaks and had to lift heavy items even though I told them I was pregnant. There are many workers who are experiencing the same conditions.”

Of the 325,000 domestic workers in California, more than half are hired by agencies, according to “Profile of Domestic Workers in California,” a report by the UCLA Labor Center. With this legislation, we are holding our government accountable: the home is a workplace, and California can no longer deny domestic workers basic occupational health and safety protections.

After five years of fighting for Health and Safety for All Workers, we celebrate this win as an enormous step forward, as we continue our fight to win health and safety for all domestic workers and end the legacy of racism and exclusion that lives on in California’s labor laws today. You can read our full press release here. 

Let’s continue building a future where every worker is treated with dignity and respect. 

In Solidarity,

Kimberly Alvarenga
Director