The Philippine Consulate General in New York has welcomed the new measure to treat domestic workers in New York as employees.
A law signed by New York Governor Kathleen Hochul in December 2021 legally considers domestic workers as “employees” under the New York State Human Rights Law while Intro 39 signed by then New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in August 2021 extends anti-discrimination protections to domestic workers of the city.
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Consul General Elmer Cato said in a March 8 statement that the Philippine Consulate General welcomes these positive developments that ” will improve employment security and enhance work benefits of kababayan employed in the household service industry.”
The consulate further said that the expansion of the human rights law provides explicit protection for a domestic worker, who often works as the sole employee of the employer, and protects them against discrimination and harassment.
The city employers of domestic workers are set to comply with the law beginning March 12, 2022 while the statewide protections are already in place.
