A measure that would recognize the legal rights of domestic workers
in Illinois is expected to go up for a vote in the state Senate
Thursday.
The Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights Act, SB 1708,
sponsored by State Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago), would require that employers
of nannies, house cleaners and caregivers pay their workers no less than the minimum wage and allow for a least one day off a week.
The
measure, which has 13 co-sponsors in the Senate, would also require
written contracts and guarantee the right to paid time off, pay for all
work hours, meal and rest periods, and an environment free from sexual
harassment.
“It’s basically time to really cut some of the last
remaining, obvious cords connected to slavery that we still have,” said
Eric Rodriguez, executive director of the Latino Union of Chicago, one of the lead organizations pushing for the bill.
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With a little more than a month remaining in the spring legislative
session in Springfield, advocates for Illinois children say it's
important to understand the factors driving the state's fiscal year 2014
budget debate and what can be done to help avoid damaging cuts to
education and other critical programs. 
