New Jersey’s Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Is Effective July 1

Follow us on LinkedIn to see future News.

Patricia Tsipras

June 24, 2024

Effective July 1, 2024, New Jersey enacted the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Act (Act).  Currently, domestic workers are not covered under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination or the New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law.  However, the Act extends protections under these laws, as well as other employment rights, to domestic workers.  See 2022 NJ S.B. 723.

A “domestic worker” is any worker who works for one or more employers and who works in a residence for the purposes of providing any of the following services:

• caring for a child
• serving as a companion or caretaker for a sick, convalescing, or elderly person, or a person with a disability
• housekeeping or house cleaning
• cooking
• providing food or butler service
• parking cars
• cleaning laundry
• gardening
• personal organizing
• for any other domestic service purpose

Certain exclusions to the definition of “domestic worker” exist, including, but not limited to, individuals providing care for a family member; house or pet sitters; operators of a business from a residence; individuals whose primary work involves household repair or maintenance; and individuals less than 18 years of age.

The Act provides the following additional rights to domestic workers:

• Written agreements: Upon hire of a domestic worker, employers will be required to provide them with a notice of their rights under the Act, as well as a written agreement outlining the worker’s job duties, hourly wage, and other terms and conditions of employment.
• Breaks and Time Off: Employers must allow domestic workers a 30-minute meal break after five consecutive hours worked.  If the domestic worker is not relieved of all work duties during the 30-minute period, the break is compensable at the worker’s regular rate of pay.  In addition to the 30-minute break, employers also must provide domestic workers with a break of at least 10 minutes for each four consecutive hours worked, subject to minor exceptions.  Employers also must provide “live-in” domestic workers with an unpaid day off after working six consecutive days for the same employer.
• Notice of Termination: Employers must give domestic workers two weeks’ notice of termination and live-in domestic workers four weeks’ notice of termination.
• Other Rights: The Act also provides protections to domestic workers from discrimination and retaliation, provides privacy rights to them, and creates procedural safeguards for violations of their rights.

Employers: The Act extends many new employment rights to domestic workers.  If you employ a domestic worker, seek counsel to ensure that your employment agreements, policies, and practices are compliant with the new law.  We can help.

Special thanks to Ava Petrellese, our paralegal, for her contributions to this article.

The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras,  is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania.  This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist.  Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.