Polaris has played our part in these successes, sitting on local coalitions, providing testimony, writing letters, and filing slips in support of survivor-centered policies. But this work needs all partners at the table to be successful — and we invite you to join the movement. 

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From coast to coast, anti-trafficking advocates are joining with worker rights and prison reform partners to prevent labor trafficking. 

In the District of Columbia, the Domestic Worker Employment Rights Amendment Act of 2022 — known as the DC Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights — will be implemented in 2024 after the DC Council fully funded the effort in next year’s budget. 

Before this law, house cleaners, nannies, home health aides, and other domestic workers were excluded from the District’s Human Rights Act prohibiting discrimination based on race, sex, gender, national origin, and other traits. Without protection, DC’s domestic workers — mostly women of color and immigrants — have been vulnerable to threats, harassment, and exploitation.

The new act includes domestic workers under the Human Rights Act and occupational health and safety laws. It also requires written agreements between employers and domestic workers, and gives workers information on their rights through a new outreach and education program.

Meanwhile, Nevada and California advocates are working to end a different exception. Sixteen states — along with the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — still allow forced labor as a punishment for a crime. Incarcerated individuals can be mandated to work and paid little to nothing, essentially leaving them without resources to provide for their families or give back to their communities.

But momentum for change is growing: Seven states have recently eliminated this language that exploits institutionalized labor from their constitutions, and Nevada hopes to follow suit. This year, they passed a joint resolution to remove the exception, which will go before voters in 2024. Similar steps are being taken in neighboring California, with the introduction of the End The Slavery in California Act. 

How can you help? If you’re in DC, Nevada, or California, join local efforts to ensure these efforts reach their goals. At the federal level, show your support for a National Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights and the Abolition Amendment to the Constitution, reintroduced this year ahead of Juneteenth.

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The post Prioritizing Survivor-Centered State Policies: The Fight for Fair Labor first appeared on Polaris.

The post Labor Trafficking On Specific Temporary Work Visas Report first appeared on Polaris.

Now, D.C. wants to change that and it’s about time.

On June 16, the D.C. Council will hear testimony from Polaris and others in support of B24-712, the Domestic Worker Employment Rights Amendment Act of 2022. This bill, introduced by At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman, is an important step toward giving workers the tools they need to protect themselves and making it more difficult to traffick and exploit the very workers who make it possible for the rest of the economy to function.

While trafficking and exploitation are, of course, illegal already, the fact that domestic workers have few enumerated rights under law, are left out of most labor protections federally, and tend to work in more informal types of arrangements, makes them particularly vulnerable. Additionally, domestic workers tend to belong to communities that are vulnerable to trafficking for other reasons. Immigrants who are not documented are vulnerable to trafficking because traffickers can threaten to have them deported. Poverty is a key vulnerability to trafficking.

Of the 47,319 domestic workers living in the DMV metro area:

• 93% are women
• 78% are people of color
• 65% are immigrants
• $21,573 is the median annual earnings

The volume of labor trafficking of domestic workers in the District of Columbia largely mirrors what happens at the national level. The Trafficking Hotline from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2020 found that 31 percent of the labor trafficking, sex and labor trafficking, and labor exploitation situations in D.C. reported to the Hotline involved domestic workers.¹

The legislation before the council would

• Include domestic workers in D.C.’s Human Rights Act, to provide protection against sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and other protected classes
• End the exclusion of domestic workers from D.C.’s occupational health and safety law
• Require written agreements between domestic workers and their employers to ensure workers know their rights and employers are aware of their responsibilities
• Provide supports and services to ensure workers know their rights and employers know their responsibilities.

Similar legislation pending before Congress would offer these kinds of needed protections for all domestic workers in the United States. In the meantime, 19 states and two major municipalities have passed their own versions of a domestic workers’ bill of rights to ensure this vital workforce is protected and treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. D.C. can and should be next.

¹ The data being reported here was generated based on information communicated to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline via phone, email, online tip report, SMS, or Webchat. The Trafficking Hotline cannot verify the accuracy of the information reported. This is not a comprehensive report on the scale or scope of human trafficking within the United States. These statistics are accurate as of May 19, 2022 but are subject to change as new information emerges or as data cleanup occurs. Since awareness of both human trafficking and the existence of a national victim service hotline is still limited, this data set should be interpreted as a limited sample of actual victim or trafficking incident data, rather than a representation of all existent victims or incidents of human trafficking. The information reported by the Trafficking Hotline is only able to represent who has access to and knowledge of the Trafficking Hotline, who has the means to reach out, and who is more likely to self-identify as a likely victim or someone in need of assistance. The data reported by Polaris should not be compared to the findings of more rigorous academic studies or prevalence estimates.

The post D.C. Domestic Workers Deserve Protections first appeared on Polaris.

In doing so, it will likely make them even more vulnerable to trafficking in the future. 

The vast majority of the nation’s some 2 million nannies, housekeepers and caregivers are women. Data from the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline shows that of the approximately 8,000 labor trafficking cases identified between December 2007 and December 2017, the highest number of cases involved domestic work. That figure is almost certainly far too low, as human trafficking overall is severely underreported. 

Most domestic workers are legal immigrants though some are undocumented. In general, they work under informal agreements. Indeed, only 8 percent of respondents in a survey by the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) reported having a contract. 

Without official employment status, these workers are not generally eligible for unemployment insurance should their employers lay them off either to maintain quarantine or because they decide they don’t need childcare or help cleaning when they themselves are home. In an attempt to stave off a recession – or worse – Congress wisely took notice of such workers and others in the informal or “gig” economy in the first major U.S. legislative response to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it is still likely that many, if not most, domestic workers will be left out of the relief altogether because – unlike, say, rideshare drivers, few will have any recorded “proof” of their employment whatsoever. The situation will be especially tricky for those domestic workers who are paid in cash – often so that their employers can avoid any tax implications they might otherwise incur. Workers who are undocumented will also have nowhere to turn. 

The legislation also provides tax credits for individuals who are experiencing economic dislocation as a result of the slowdown in economic activity, but that too is likely to leave behind many domestic workers because it requires a Social Security number and many domestic workers file taxes using a taxpayer identification number.

That leaves most domestic workers at the mercy of employers who choose to pay them while they are not working. Available data suggests this is unlikely to be the norm. 

The NDWA survey found that 23 percent of domestic workers were paid below the state minimum wage, with one worker being paid an average of $1.27 per hour when her wages were calculated using her actual hours.  

These are wages that most people, in most U.S. communities, would be unable to live on in the best of circumstances. And when domestic workers have any choice at all, they do not accept this kind of working arrangement. But dire economic need will force many to accept the unacceptable, to stay in jobs where they are paid less than the legal wage because they have literally no other choices. This will be particularly true for people who are undocumented. By leaving nannies, house cleaners, and caregivers de facto out of the relief package provided for other workers, we are setting more of them up to be victimized by unscrupulous employers and traffickers. At a moment when homes truly are our sanctuaries, let’s do better by the people who make it possible for us  – in better times – to leave them. A good start would be the passage of the federal Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which would finally include this vital segment of our workforce in the important protections afforded under federal labor law. 

In the meantime, below are a few notes to help ensure the rights of domestic workers in your employ – particularly those living in your home at this challenging time.

• Sheltering in place or quarantine does not mean that a live-in nanny, housecleaner or caregiver should be asked to work 24/7. Establish normal working hours for this less-than-normal time.
• Do not expect or ask live-in employees to perform tasks or jobs outside their normal purview. For example, if someone was hired to take care of a sick relative in your home, that does not mean they are available to cook and clean.
• Do not dock pay/charge domestic workers for meals they are eating with your family, as they have no choice because of the quarantine.
• Create a simple, written contract that documents these terms as well as hours, work expectations, and tasks. 
• Consider continuing to pay domestic workers during the pandemic even if you are unable to use their services due to social distancing.
• Encourage others you know to do the same! 

The post Domestic Workers Face Economic Devastation During the COVID-19 Pandemic first appeared on Polaris.

Specifically,  the Philadelphia City Council passed legislation that finally gives domestic workers in that city the same rights and protections that practically all other workers have had for decades. And the U.S. Department of State expanded its successful program to track and protect domestic workers who come to this country with employers from overseas. 

Overview: Trafficking of domestic workers

Of the approximately 8,000 labor trafficking cases identified by the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline between December 2007 and December 2017, the highest number – almost 23 percent – involved domestic work. That figure likely represents only a small fraction of the problem, as human trafficking in all its forms is severely underreported. 

The demographics of victims and survivors of labor trafficking in the domestic work arena mirror those of this workforce as a whole. It is nearly all-female, and immigrants and people of color are disproportionately represented. 

A bill of rights for domestic workers in Philadelphia

The new law in Philadelphia, an effort pushed forward by the National Domestic Workers Alliance, would expand to that city’s approximately 16,000 domestic workers – who earn an average of $10,000 a year – some basic legal protections. 

That includes requiring that domestic workers have written contracts that lay out their specific duties as well as their hourly wages, meal breaks, overtime rights, weekly schedules, and other rights and responsibilities of the job. 

Those rights include a paid 10-minute break every four hours, and a paid 30-minute meal break after five hours. Failure to provide those breaks means the worker should be paid for an extra hour of work. 

Additionally, employees must be given two-weeks notice of the job ending – and an entire month for live-in employees. If this doesn’t happen, the worker is entitled to severance pay. 

The fact that these basic labor rights have to be spelled out and legislated for this workforce is indicative of the larger problem. While most workers have at least some legal tools in their proverbial back pockets, domestic workers have been excluded from many of the rights and protections afforded to most other workers in the United States. The National Labor Relations Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 all explicitly or implicitly exclude domestic workers.

Without these legal protections, domestic workers have little recourse to protect themselves against ill-treatment or exploitation, which can easily cross the line into trafficking.

Now it is time to make these and other important protections available to domestic workers in every single state. Senator Kamala Harris and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal have introduced a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in the 116th Congress, which would reduce the vulnerability of this workforce by strengthening protections, raising standards and innovating for the future of domestic work. 

The State Department Program 

Some of the highest profile cases of labor trafficking of domestic workers involve diplomats and other staffers at international organizations who are eligible to bring domestic workers with them when they move to the United States for their jobs. 

The workers are often extremely isolated. Many do not speak English and are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with government institutions in the United States. They often don’t know that help is available and if they do, they may not have any way to access it. 

The problem became so pronounced that the U.S. Department of State launched a pilot program in Washington, D.C. to try to break through the isolation these workers face and ensure they have a lifeline if they need one by requiring that they appear in person, once a year, during the course of their employment. At that meeting, State Department personnel offer them a confidential opportunity to talk about how things are going in the workplace and help them to understand their rights and the protections available to them if those rights are violated. 

Now the State Department has expanded the in-person registration program to the New York metropolitan area and Houston, Texas. The U.S. Mission to the United Nations also launched an in-person registration program for domestic workers employed by members of the UN Permanent Mission community. And in late October, the Secretary of State announced that it will expand to Los Angeles and San Francisco and cover domestic workers employed by UN personnel.

By providing domestic workers with an opportunity to talk privately, face-to-face, with people who are trained to help, this program breaks through the isolation and helplessness that makes this kind of trafficking possible and provides real hope for victims and survivors.  

Stay informed! If you’d like to help make an impact on the lives of human trafficking victims and survivors join our Grassroots Network.

The post Positive Steps Toward Protecting House Cleaners, Nannies, and Other Domestic Workers first appeared on Polaris.

The post Systemic Change Matrix: Disrupting and Preventing Human Trafficking first appeared on Polaris.

The highest number of labor trafficking cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, almost 23 percent, involved domestic workers. This is likely a small fraction of what is really happening as human trafficking in all its forms is notoriously underreported. Workers were often controlled through the withholding of earnings, misrepresentation of the job, excessive working hours, and emotional abuse. According to NDWA, 67 percent of surveyed domestic workers indicated their job expectations were only covered during informal conversations, with 74 percent saying they could not decline taking on more work. 

Click here to read “Human Trafficking at Home: Labor Trafficking of Domestic Workers.” Additionally, Polaris has created a data fact sheet, a guide for families who hire domestic workers, and an overview of what makes certain situations instances of labor trafficking. 

“The importance of domestic workers to the functioning of our economy as a whole—let alone the functioning of our individual households—cannot be overstated,” said Lillian Agbeyegbe, Polaris’s learning and impact manager and the report’s author. “Yet, too often we learn about cases where someone has been held as a virtual slave in a home for years on end, and we are always shocked and surprised. We shouldn’t be. It is long past time to recognize that caring for our loved ones and our homes is real, vital work and that the people who do it deserve fair wages, decent working hours and the legal protections that can keep them from being trafficked.”

“Domestic workers do the work that makes all work possible. Yet they work in a ‘wild west’ environment where working conditions are based on the good will of their employer rather than a set standard. This creates a breeding ground for exploitation, including labor trafficking,” said Ai-jen Poo, the Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. “The National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, a 21st-century framework to bring dignity and respect to domestic workers, is part of a bigger solution to ensure that the trafficking of domestic workers ends once and for all.”  

Key highlights in the report include:

• Many basic U.S. labor laws currently exclude domestic workers. Most workers have at least some legal tools in their proverbial back pockets. Domestic workers, however, have been excluded from many of the rights and protections afforded to most other workers in the United States. The National Labor Relations Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 all explicitly or implicitly exclude domestic workers.

• Flaws within the U.S. government’s temporary work visa programs perpetuate the exploitation of domestic workers. Under the current system, these visas make it all too easy for bad actors to entice workers from abroad into abusive situations and coerce them into staying and suffering because they truly have no other acceptable choices. These visa programs need strengthened oversight to ensure that workers’ rights are respected and that they have avenues to seek legal remedies in cases of abuse. Furthermore, the United States could end “tied” visas, which would remove the threat of deportation or severe hurdles if the worker chooses to change jobs or tries to report abuse and is then fired.

• Solutions that can help eliminate the trafficking of domestic workers by raising standards across the industry. Legislation supported by NDWA to significantly strengthen protections for domestic workers, the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, would take an important step toward preventing the trafficking of domestic workers. The bill would provide federal protections to domestic workers, including overtime pay, paid sick leave, meal and rest breaks, privacy protections, and other protections against harassment and discrimination. The Bill of Rights will also establish a hotline for domestic workers to call if they are worried about their safety.

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About Polaris
Polaris is a leader in the global fight to eradicate modern slavery. Named after the North Star that guided slaves to freedom in the U.S., Polaris acts as a catalyst to systemically disrupt the human trafficking networks that rob human beings of their lives and their freedom. By working with government leaders, the world’s leading technology corporations, and local partners, Polaris equips communities to identify, report, and prevent human trafficking. Our comprehensive model puts victims at the center of what we do – helping survivors restore their freedom, preventing more victims, and leveraging data and technology to pursue traffickers wherever they operate. Learn more at www.polarisproject.org.

About NDWA
National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is the leading voice for dignity and fairness for millions of domestic workers in the United States. Founded in 2007, NDWA works for respect, recognition and inclusion in labor protections for domestic workers, majority of whom are immigrants and women of color. NDWA is powered by over 60 affiliate organizations and local chapters and by a growing membership base of nannies, house cleaners and care workers in over 20 states. Learn more about the domestic workers movement on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The post New Report Spotlights the Trafficking of Nannies, House Cleaners, Other Domestic Workers in the U.S. first appeared on Polaris.

_{*Names and potentially identifying information have been changed.}

The post Human Trafficking at Home first appeared on Polaris.

A joint report by Polaris and the National Domestic Workers Alliance examined records from the Polaris-operated U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline to determine the scope of the problem. The data showed that of the approximately 8,000 labor trafficking cases identified between December 2007 and December 2017, the highest number of cases involved domestic work. That number likely represents only a small fraction of the problem, as human trafficking in all its forms is severely underreported.

The post Human Trafficking at Home: Labor Trafficking of Domestic Workers first appeared on Polaris.

One of those is simply by turning a blind eye. This latest case involved a young girl from the perpetrators’ home country who they took in and put to work when she was just five years old. For 16 years, she cared for the couple’s children, cooked, cleaned, mowed the lawn and slept on the floor. She was never paid. The couple, when arrested, claimed they considered the girl “family” and so payment would not have been appropriate.

Trafficked domestic workers are rarely allowed out of the house for long periods of time, by themselves. But it is hard to imagine that after more than a decade in the United States, no one noticed that a child was caring for someone else’s children; or that a child was living in the home with other school-aged children and not attending school. More likely is that someone noticed, probably more than one person, but no one intervened.

In part, that may have been because of some internalized sense that the child was better off here rather than where she came from – in this case, a single room mud hut, according to published reports. Such attitudes – generally tacit, even unconscious  – are troubling. We all have fundamental human rights that do not evaporate simply because a person’s country of origin is poor or undeveloped. Among those fundamental rights: The right to be paid a decent wage for our labor.

Along similar lines, people may have been hesitant to report suspicions – ironically – because the perpetrators claimed to consider her family and many are reluctant to judge or intervene in familial situations.  Of course, familial ties are not a license to abuse, physically or otherwise. The National Human Trafficking Hotline frequently learns of situations in which domestic partners, cousins, children, and wives, are forced to perform unpaid labor in abusive conditions.  

From January 1, 2013, to June 30, 2018, 11% of the 1,061 potential domestic worker victims reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline reported a familial relationship with their trafficker. Sometimes, the labor is domestic work, but it can also be work in a family business enterprise. This is trafficking, regardless of the relationship – blood or marriage – between victim and perpetrator.

The very fact that this case was prosecuted, successfully, suggests that this kind of trafficking is beginning to be recognized, more often, but not nearly often enough. Far more needs to be done. A vital first step is the passage of a federal bill championed by Senator Kamala Harris and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, that creates a “domestic worker bill of rights.” That legislation would remedy the fact that domestic workers are, for a variety of reasons, left out of existing national labor protection laws including the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Similar legislation extending certain rights to fair wages, work hours, overtime, health care, protection against retaliation and sexual harassment, and more, has been enacted in eight states and the city of Seattle.  

Until that becomes the law of the land, domestic work will still be seen as an informal, fungible arrangement. It is not. Caring for children, preparing meals, running errands, cleaning homes: All of these activities are work. They should be paid, treated, and respected as such.

Stay informed! If you’d like to help make an impact on the lives of human trafficking victims and survivors join our Grassroots Network.

The post Trafficking at Home: A Recent Texas Case Shows Gaping Holes in Response and Protections for Domestic Workers at Risk first appeared on Polaris.