Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (“SB”) 1350, which expands the definition of employment to include some household domestic employees who work through agencies. SB 1350 will go into effect on July 1, 2025.
Historically, the definition of “employment” for purposes of California’s Occupational Safety and Health Act excluded all household domestic service employees. These employees were therefore not provided with health and safety protections by Cal-OSHA. SB 1350 expands the definition of “employment” to include household domestic service performed on a permanent or temporary basis by certain workers. Specifically, Cal-OSHA’s health and safety protections would apply to domestic workers whose services are not publicly funded, do not work in family daycare homes, and who are not privately employed by individuals in their own homes to perform ordinary domestic household tasks, including housecleaning, cooking, and caregiving.
As a result of SB 1350, the majority of household workers should receive improved safety measures, hazard identification, proper equipment and worker training. According to the influential Profile of Domestic Workers in California by UCLA Labor Center, which was cited repeatedly by the proponents of SB 1350, 84% of homecare attendants were employed through agencies, and 16% were hired directly by their employers. However, this count included both private and government agencies.
SB 1350 follows SB 321, which was also authored by California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo. SB 321 created an advisory committee comprised of domestic workers, occupational health and safety experts, and employers to develop industry-specific health and safety guidelines and make policy recommendations to the legislature. Proponents of SB 1350 cited SB321 Committee Policy Recommendations to Protect the Health and Safety of Household Domestic Services Employees. Notably, the Committee’s Policy Recommendations were to remove the household domestic services exclusion altogether, including for individuals in their own home. The Committee also recommended that California agencies use a dual employer responsibility policy to hold homeowners jointly liable with agencies for working conditions in a home. While SB 1350 adopts a limited version of the SB 321 Committee’s recommendations, individuals who employ domestic workers should be aware that further laws may be proposed to implement those recommendations. Domestic workers employed in private households are still entitled to wage and hour protections under California law, many of which are codified under the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (Labor Code sections 1450-1454).
