By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The long-awaited Domestic Workers Bill of Rights finally became law Tuesday, granting new protections to housekeepers, nannies and others employed by individual families.
“Today we correct an historic injustice by granting those who care for the elderly, raise our children and clean our homes the same essential rights to which all workers should be entitled,” Gov. David Paterson said in statement before signing the bill.
Under the new legislation, domestic workers will enjoy many of the rights that have been limited to workers in other industries, including disability benefits, the right to sue for racial or sexual harassment, three days of paid vacation time for each year worked and overtime-pay for in-home workers who work more than 40 hours per week.
The governor said he hoped the bill, the first in the country, would serve as a model for other states.
