The impact of these injuries and illnesses on these workers was worsened by their lack of access to sick leave. For their back-breaking labor, our clients were paid a flat daily rate regardless of how many hours they worked, amounting to as little as four dollars per hour with no overtime.
On March 24, 2023, the Fair Work Center helped these six workers file a lawsuit against Assurecare for failure to pay their full wages for all hours worked, missed rest breaks and meal periods, and significant overtime premiums. Critically, this case also seeks to close an unconstitutional loophole in the state’s labor laws that permits live-in workers to be mistreated. Without this relief, our clients’ rights to fair pay, breaks, and sick leave are in jeopardy.
How We Got Here
Washington is, in many ways, a national leader in protecting workers’ rights. However, the backbone of Washington’s labor laws, the Minimum Wage Requirement and Labor Standards Act (MWA), is fundamentally shaped by flawed federal laws. As such, it inexplicably excludes many categories of workers, including live-in workers such as caregivers, from various labor protections like minimum wage and overtime laws.
This exclusion derives from a shameful tradition in the United States denigrating the value of domestic work (including caregiving work). Our foundational labor laws often explicitly excluded work performed by non-white, non-male identifying people. The racist and sexist roots of the policy workers live with today extend back nearly a hundred years.
