Update: The Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, which aims to extend employment rights to more than 9,000 domestic workers in the District, passed unanimously during D.C. Council’s final legislative session of the year. The bill passed during its second and final vote on Wednesday. The bill will now move onto Mayor Muriel Bowser’s desk to either sign into law or veto.

Original: The D.C. Council has voted unanimously on its first vote to pass the Domestic Worker Employment Rights Amendment Act of 2022, which would extend rights and protections to more than 9,000 domestic workers – including house cleaners, nannies, and home health aides. On Tuesday, ahead of the Council’s vote on the bill, domestic workers and members of the D.C. chapter for the National Domestic Workers Alliance rallied outside of the Wilson Building.

“For me it’s like breaking a wall,” says Ingrid Vaca, who has worked as a domestic worker in D.C. for more than 20 years.

The bill, also known as the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, was first introduced in March by At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman and eight other council members to include domestic workers under D.C.’s Human Rights Act, which makes discrimination illegal for more than a dozen protected traits.

“These women have been asking for something very basic – dignity, respect, fairness, and a safe workplace,” said Silverman in a statement. “It’s an entirely reasonable thing to ask for, and I’m pleased to say that from the start, all of us on the dais have been on board with those aims, as we worked through the legislation.”

Once the new law is enacted, domestic workers will be protected against sexual harassment and discrimination based on race, national origin, and other factors. It will also include domestic workers in the District’s occupational health and safety laws.

“When we fall or have an accident, when there is sexual assault, when [employers] break a contract, we have nowhere to go,” says Vaca. “So that is going to change greatly for us.”

The new law would also require written agreements between employers and domestic workers that would outline workers’ rights and employer responsibilities. Moreover, the law would introduce an outreach and education program for domestic workers within the Department of Employment Services.

To domestic workers like Karla Canales, that means she will longer have to worry about informal work agreements with potential employers.

“It will help me with security because I know that if I get sick, I have benefits,” says Canales, who was born in Honduras and has lived in D.C for four years. “And with a bill of rights approving [our rights], we know that our work is going to be valid.”

According to advocates, the majority of domestic workers in D.C. are women of color and immigrants. For Vaca, the new law will not only protect her rights as a worker but also make her feel respected for her chosen profession.

“I’ve cleaned houses, care(d) for elders, care(d) for children and it really is a dignified job that has allowed me to support my small family,” says Vaca. “This law for domestic workers is something that makes us very proud. It makes us feel happy and we want this to be an example for the whole world.”

During her remarks, Councilmember Silverman directly addressed Vaca and other workers who fought for the bill.

“Your determination, your advocacy, your many hours of testimony, your sharing of personal stories of wage theft, sexual harassment, fear of retaliation for asking for a fair, dignified workplace: All those efforts pay off today,” said Silverman.

The vote is the first of two per the Council’s requirement to take two votes on every non-emergency bill. The next vote will be held on Dec. 20.