JOINT LEGISLATIVE VICTORY NEWSFLASH – October 7, 2013
From: Roy Hanson — Family Protection Ministries and Mike Smith — HSLDA
Bill: AB 241 – Domestic Work Employees (e.g., Babysitters) Author: State Assembly Member Tom Ammiano
Position: We Strongly Opposed Unless Amended
Status: Amended and signed into law
A Great Victory for all Parents!!
AB 241 as introduced would have, among other things, classified parents who hire babysitters age 18 or older (even on an occasional basis) as an employer that must comply with all laws and regulations that govern domestic work employees and their employers. These requirements would have included things like income tax withholding and tax reports, disability insurance, unemployment insurance, overtime pay, rest periods, scheduled sleep times, etc….
Before being amended, this bill would have effectively ended most babysitting by anyone 18 years old or older in California. This bill was written because of a massive movement to regulate the domestic worker industry, a movement with extremely powerful supporters at the legislature. However, nearly every family hires a babysitter from time to time. This is a wonderful help to parents and to the 18 and older occasional babysitter. This is a beneficial arrangement for all and clearly not in the same category as a full-time maid or live-in nanny.
We have spent hundreds of hours over the last two and a half years working behind the scenes to protect parents’ ability to casually hire a trusted adult of their choosing as a babysitter without overwhelming paperwork and government regulation. The bill as amended exempts casual babysitters, now defined as a person whose employment is irregular OR intermittent and is not an individual whose vocation is babysitting, from the burdensome requirements of the bill.
Given the increased control that the Democratic majority has in the Legislature, getting this bill amended is a tremendous victory for all parents. Despite the liberal supermajorities in both houses, this victory was won against incredible odds that only God’s grace can explain.
While we still dislike the bill overall as it increases the size of government through more regulation of the private affairs of families, we are very pleased with the helpful amendments to the bill and believe that it better protects the common sense practice of hired babysitters.
We were greatly relieved and thankful to God that AB 241 was amended by the author!