Mass. Activists Push For Domestic Worker Rights

BOSTON (AP) — Employment rights activists are going to the Massachusetts Statehouse to call for stronger protections for domestic workers.

They'll be pressing a legislative committee on Tuesday to pass a bill that would require employers of domestic workers to provide a maximum of 40 hours of earned sick time a year.

Employers also would be barred from monitoring a domestic worker's private communications and could not force workers to pay for food or lodging unless the worker voluntarily and freely chooses to accept.

Activists say domestic workers are often the target of exploitation and are more vulnerable than employees in other workplaces.

A hearing before the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Statehouse.

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