S3604

An Act concerning domestic workers and amending P.L.2023, c.262.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 2 of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-70) is amended to read as follows:

2. As used in P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.):

"Casual work" means work that is:

(1) irregular, uncertain, or incidental in nature and duration; and

(2) different in nature from the type of paid work in which the worker is customarily engaged.

"Domestic services" means services of a household nature and performed by an individual in or about a private home on a permanent or temporary basis and includes services performed by a domestic worker.

"Domestic worker" or "worker" means hourly and salaried employees, full-time and part-time individuals, and temporary individuals and is narrowly construed to mean any worker who:

(1) works for one or more employers; and

(2) is an individual who works in residence for the purposes of providing any of the following services: caring for a child; serving as a companion or caretaker for a sick, convalescing, or elderly person or a person with a disability; housekeeping or house cleaning; cooking; providing food or butler service; parking cars; cleaning laundry; gardening; personal organizing; or for any other domestic service purpose, provided that the term domestic worker does not include:

(a) A family member, with "family member" meaning a spouse, child, parent, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, first cousin, grandparent, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, or half-sister, whether the individual is related by blood, marriage, or adoption;

(b) An individual primarily engaged in house sitting, pet sitting, or dog walking;

(d) An individual whose primary work involves household repair or maintenance, such as a roofer, plumber, mason, painter, or other similar contractor;

(e) An employee of the State or the United States; [or]

(f) An individual established as a kinship legal guardian, as defined by section 2 of P.L.2001, c.250 (C.3B:12A-2), of a child who lives in the residence or an individual who participates in the Kinship Navigator Program, as authorized by the Department of Children and Families, as a caregiver of a child who lives in the residence and receives services provided by a kinship navigator service provider ;

(g) An individual who is duly licensed or certified under State law and has satisfied background check and credentialing requirements pursuant to that licensure or certification, including certified homemaker-home health aides;

(h) A home care services agency, as defined in section 1 of P.L.1947, c. 262 (C.45:11-23) and licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et al.), including a health care service firm registered pursuant to P.L.1989, c.331 (C.34:8-43 et al.), which performs employee background checks; and

(i) A hospice care program licensed under P.L.1997, c.78 (26:2H-79 et seq.) and subject to personnel screening and background-check requirements.

"Department" means the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

"Employment agency" means any person or entity that procures, or attempts to procure, any workers for referral to a third party.

"Hiring entity" means any employer, as defined in section 1 of P.L.1965, c.173 (C.34:11-4.1), who employs a domestic worker and also means any person, firm, business, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other entity, including referral, employment, and internet based or on-demand platforms, that provides compensation directly or indirectly to a domestic worker for the performance of domestic services and any person or persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of the employer in relation to the domestic worker. “Hiring entity” shall not include a home care service agency, including a health care service firm, or a licensed hospice care program, with respect to services performed by licensed or certified workers acting within the scope of their licensure or certification.

"Live-in domestic worker" includes any individuals, who, as part of their employment, reside in the personal residence of the employer.

"Referral agency" means any person or entity that procures, or attempts to procure, directly or indirectly through placement in a physical or virtual labor pool:

(1) employees; and

(2) after the procurement does not continue involvement in the terms of exchange of domestic services with the employees in any way, with the exception of the following:

(a) continuing to display, host, or advertise, either through physical means or virtual means, the workers' contact information, job qualifications, resume, image, or digital profile which employers or clients can use to independently contact employees about employment; or

(b) removing, either through physical means or virtual means, the workers' contact information, job qualifications, resume, image, or digital profile, which employers or clients can use to independently contact employees, upon the mandate of any federal, State, or local laws.

"Remuneration for work" means compensation due to the work of a domestic worker, payable in legal tender of the United States or checks on banks convertible into cash on demand at full face value, subject to any deductions, charges, or allowances as may be permitted by rules of the department.

"Written" or "writing" means a printed or printable communication in physical or electronic form, including a communication that is transmitted through email, text message, or a computer system, or is otherwise sent and maintained electronically.

(cf: P.L.2023, c.262, s.2)

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill amends the Domestic Worker’s Bill of Rights (DWBR) to clarify that certain individuals and organizations who are licensed or certified under existing regulatory schemes are not intended to be treated as domestic workers under the DWBR.

Under current law, there are several types of workers and organization that are not considered to be “domestic workers.” This bill adds to those exceptions: 1) an individual who is duly licensed or certified under State law and has satisfied background check and credentialing requirements pursuant to that licensure or certification, including certified homemaker-home health aides regulated and subject to background checks; 2) a home care services agency, including health care service firms, which performs employee background checks; and 3) a licensed hospice care program subject to personnel screening and background-check requirements.

Additionally, the bill provides that a "hiring entity" within the scope of the DWBR does not include a home care service agency, including a health care service firm or a licensed hospice care program with respect to services performed by licensed or certified workers acting within the scope of their licensure or certification.