Domestic workers and their employers, labor advocates and the general public, have a stake in ensuring a robust labor standards regime to enhance the quality of care and maintain everyday life across the generations. This policy report begins with the assumption that better care requires decent working conditions: only when nannies, elder care, and other household workers obtain fair compensation, a decent working environment, and recognition as workers with skill and knowledge, who have opportunities for training and career advancement, can they provide the kind of services that will enable households and individuals to retain employment while sustaining homes and the lives of those needing assistance or care.

In 2013, the California Legislature passed and Governor Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 241 which established a bill of rights for domestic workers in the state of California. The enactment of Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (DWBOR) in California is part of the general diffusion of these policies across states. The report surveys DWBORs in U.S. states and Western European countries. Based on a review of the enforcement mechanisms in DWBOR legislation, the report concludes enforcement is vexed because it depends on low-waged workers themselves to initiate complaints without any guarantee of speedy redress and the risk of retaliation against workers. Since the enforcement mechanisms reflect structures of antagonism between domestic workers and their employers, civil organizations and state agencies play an important role in ensuring worker complaints are properly expedited and adjudicated in accordance with state labor standards.