CHAPTER 9-4500. PROTECTIONS FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS 1164.1§ 9-4501. Definitions.
(1) "Domestic worker" includes hourly and salaried employees, independent contractors, full-time and part-time individuals andtemporary individuals and is narrowly construed to mean any worker who: (i) works for one or more hiring entities; and (ii) is anindividual who works in residence for the purposes of caring for a child, serving as a companion or caretaker for a sick convalescing,elderly or a person with a disability; housekeeping or house cleaning; cooking; providing food or butler service; parking cars; cleaninglaundry; gardening; personal organizing, or for any other domestic service purpose; provided that the term Domestic Worker does notinclude:(a) A family member of the service user, as the term family member is defined in Chapter 9-4100 ("Promoting Healthy Families andWorkplaces").
(b) An individual primarily engaged in house sitting, pet sitting, or dog walking.
(c) An individual working at a business operated primarily out of the residence, such as a home day-care business.
(d) An individual whose primary work involves household repair or maintenance, such as a roofer, plumber, mason, painter or othersimilar contractor.
(e) A home health care worker while they are paid through public funds, such as a home health care worker while paid throughMedicaid or Medicare.
(f) An individual less than 18 years of age.
(2) "Enforcement Agency." The Mayor's Office of Labor or such other office as the Mayor shall designate.
(3) "Hiring Entity." Any employer, as defined by the Pennsylvania Wage Payment Collection Law and the Minimum Wage Act, whoemploys a domestic worker, as well as any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust or combination thereof, thatpays a wage or wages for the services of a domestic worker. It includes any such entity, person or group of persons that provides
compensation directly or indirectly to a domestic worker for the performance of domestic services and any such entity, person or persons
acting directly or indirectly in the interest of the hiring entity in relation to the domestic worker.
(4) "‘Live-in' Domestic Worker." A domestic worker who resides in the household where they are employed.
(5) "Referral Agency." An entity that provides information or services in order to facilitate connections between hiring entities anddomestic workers, but that is not otherwise involved in an employment relationship with a domestic worker.
(6) "Work on a Casual Basis." Work that is irregular and casual in nature and duration, as shall be further defined by regulation.
§ 9-4502. Contract and Other Requirements.
(1) No hiring entity shall employ a domestic worker, except for work on a casual basis or work of less than 5 hours per month, unlessthe engagement is governed by a written contract governing the following: a specific list of job duties; hourly wage and overtime wage;
weekly schedule including number of hours per week; the manner and frequency of payment; breaks for rest and meals; paid or unpaid
leave including sick time; paid holidays; any other benefits provided; modes of transportation required and whether provided; value ofhousing if provided; sleeping period and personal time for live-in workers; the term of the contract; and any other terms and conditions
as agreed upon by the domestic worker and the hiring entity or as mandated pursuant to this Chapter, provided that no provisions in thewritten agreement may waive a domestic worker's rights under federal, state, or local law. The contract must be signed and dated by allparties after ample opportunity to review.
(2) The agreement must be in English and such other language as may be preferred by the worker. The hiring entity shall makereasonable efforts to determine if the worker would prefer the agreement to be in another language.
(3) When the person utilizing the services of a domestic worker obtains services through a person, agency or entity that is the hiring
entity, the hiring entity shall have a contract with such person that sets forth the rights of a domestic worker under this Chapter.
(4) Template agreements complying with this Chapter shall be made available in multiple languages by the Enforcement Agency
through regulations, as provided in § 9-4506.
(5) A referral agency shall provide domestic workers and hiring entities with information concerning the contract requirements of thisChapter at the time a hiring entity is connected with a worker and shall make any contract templates adopted by the City available to thehiring entity through the medium used to communicate with the hiring entity, such as through a link to the City's template webpage on
the referral agency's website.
§ 9-4503. Minimum Protections.
(1) Except as otherwise provided, the following minimum terms, and such other minimum terms as may be established by theEnforcement Agency by regulation, shall apply to a work relationship between a domestic worker and a hiring entity or hiring entities.
(2) Meal and Rest Breaks.
(a) The hiring entity shall allow the domestic worker an uninterrupted paid rest-period of not less than ten minutes for each four
consecutive hours worked, unless the nature of the work prevents the domestic worker from being relieved of all duties for such periodof time, such as some types of child care and caretaker work for a sick, elderly or disabled person. The hiring entity shall pay thedomestic worker for the time spent on a rest break at the domestic worker's regular rate of pay.

(b) The hiring entity shall allow an uninterrupted 30-minute meal break after more than five consecutive hours worked. Unless thedomestic worker is relieved of all work duties during such 30-minute period, the meal period shall be considered an "on-duty" mealperiod and shall be paid at the domestic worker's 1164.2 regular rate of pay.
(i) An "on-duty" meal period shall be permitted only when the nature of the work prevents a domestic worker from being relievedof all duties and when, by written agreement between the parties, an "on-duty" meal period is agreed to. Such agreement may be revokedby the domestic worker, in writing, at any time.
(c) The hiring entity shall not impede or discourage a domestic worker from taking such meal or rest breaks.
(d) Failure to allow a meal or rest period in accordance with this subsection 9-4503(2) shall entitle the domestic worker to one
additional hour of pay at the domestic worker's regular rate of compensation for each workday that the meal or rest period was notprovided. Payment of this extra pay shall not excuse non-compliance with this subsection.
(3) Unpaid Leave Time.
(a) Except with respect to work on a casual basis, a domestic worker shall accrue unpaid leave time with respect to a hiring entity
pursuant to the rules of Section 9-4104 1164.3 of the Code ("Accrual of Paid Sick Time") and shall be permitted to utilize such time
pursuant to the rules of Section 9-4105 ("Use of Paid Sick Time"). Use of such time shall be counted against accruals whether or not thedomestic worker is compensated for such time pursuant to the system established under subsection 9-4503(4) ("Paid Leave Time").
(b) A "live-in" domestic worker shall not be required to work more than six consecutive days for a hiring entity without a 24-hour
period of rest, which may be unpaid.
(4) Paid Leave Time.
(a) The following paid leave time requirements shall be effective upon adoption of regulations by the Enforcement Agency
establishing a centralized portable benefits system for: recording and dispersing paid leave time earned by domestic workers on an
aggregated basis for work performed for multiple hiring entities; collecting funds from hiring entities to pay for such leave time; anddeveloping the infrastructure to administer portable access to such funds for domestic workers who earn such leave time.
(b) Except with respect to work on a casual basis, and any exemptions created as part of the establishment of the portable benefits
system, a hiring entity shall be required to pay funds into the portable benefits system based on the hours worked for the hiring entity andsuch funds will become the compensation for earned paid leave time.
(c) Paid leave time shall be accrued at a rate of 1 hour per 40 hours of work and capped at 40 hours earned in a calendar year. Livein workers shall accrue time only for on-duty time. Paid leave time shall be calculated and accrued in the same manner as the regular rateof pay for the workweek in which the hiring entity engages the domestic worker for domestic worker services.
(d) All contributions made by hiring entities shall be maintained in a centralized Paid Leave Time account designated for each hiring
entity and Domestic Worker that is engaged in domestic worker services. Once a domestic worker meets the required accrual hours forpaid leave time as described under Section 9-4503(4)(c), then the workers' rights shall be deemed as vested for purposes of the Paid
Leave Time provision. This will guarantee the domestic worker a right for Paid Leave Time and access to funds accrued and maintainedin their designated Paid Leave Time account. The domestic worker retains such rights and access to her account regardless of changes
that may occur in the relationship between the Domestic Worker and Hiring Entity that contributed to the Paid Leave Time account.
(e) The Enforcement Agency shall develop the infrastructure that facilitates the creation and the implementation of the Paid Leave
Time Account through which hiring entities and domestic workers will have access in order to comply with all the provisions of Paid
Leave Time. The infrastructure that is developed by the Enforcement Agency must permit the collection of hiring entity contributions
and that allows for the disbursement of the domestic worker vested compensation that is in compliance with the provisions of thissection.
(f) Payment for leave time shall be accessed by the domestic worker based on a demonstration of compensation needed to replace
lost regularly-scheduled work time because of: a change in work schedule or cancellation of planned work time by the employer; theneed for leave time for any of the reasons for which sick leave may be used under Chapter 9-4100 of the Code ("Promoting Healthy
Families and Workplaces"); personal time needed for significant and unexpected personal matters; or any other reason established by
Enforcement Agency by regulation.
(5) Agreement Termination.
(a) The hiring entity shall provide a minimum two-week notification period before termination of the workplace relationship, andfor "live-in" domestic workers a minimum four-week notification period before termination of the workplace relationship. No
notification period is required in connection with termination of work performed on a casual basis for a hiring entity.
(b) The hiring entity may terminate the relationship without complying with the full notification period based on a good-faith belief
that the domestic worker has engaged in significant misconduct.
(c) Failure to provide notification as required under this Section shall entitle the domestic worker to severance pay in the amount of
the worker's regular hourly rate multiplied by the regular number of hours worked over the period of time during which the required
notification was not provided.
(6) Worker Documents and Privacy. No hiring entity shall:(a) Keep or hold the original copies of any personal documents of a domestic worker.
(b) Monitor or record, through any means, the activities of a domestic worker: (i) using any bathroom or similar facility; (ii) in theprivate living quarters of a domestic worker; or (iii) while the worker is engaged in any activities associated with dressing or changing
clothes.
(c) Monitor, record or interfere with the private communications of a domestic worker.
§ 9-4504. Notification of Rights and Record Keeping.
(1) A hiring entity shall provide to a domestic worker such notification of the rights of domestic workers under this Chapter, and suchinformation on how to file a complaint for violation of such rights, as shall be determined by the Enforcement Agency by regulation.
(2) A hiring entity shall create and maintain records documenting hours worked, pay rate, leave time earned and used and theexistence of a written contract, all pursuant to requirements established by regulation. If a hiring entity does not maintain such records ordoes not allow the Enforcement Agency reasonable access to such records, an adverse inference may be drawn with respect to facts
alleged regarding the issues about which records were not kept.
(3) The Enforcement Agency shall maintain the confidentiality of all records it obtains in connection with enforcement activities tothe full extent permitted by law.
§ 9-4505. Rights Protected; Retaliation Prohibited.
(1) It shall be unlawful for a hiring entity or any other person to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt toexercise, any right set forth in this Chapter.
(2) The minimum requirements of Section 9-4503 ("Minimum Protections") shall be deemed incorporated into any contract, whether
actual or implied, between the hiring entity and the domestic worker.
(3) A material breach by a hiring entity of a contract with a domestic worker shall constitute a violation of this Chapter, without regard
to whether the breach is of a provision required by this Chapter.
(4) No hiring entity or any other person shall take or threaten retaliatory action against any person because a domestic worker has
exercised rights or pursued a claim of violation under this Chapter. Such rights include the right to use break and leave time pursuant tothis Chapter; the right to demand compliance with protections established by contract; the right to file a complaint or inform any person
about a hiring entity's alleged violation of this Chapter; the right to cooperate with the Enforcement Agency in any investigation pursuant
to this Chapter; and the right to inform any person of the rights established under this Chapter.
(5) Retaliatory action includes communicating to a person the willingness or intent to contact a government agency regarding thesuspected citizenship or immigration status of a domestic worker or family member of a domestic worker because the worker has or has
expressed an intent to exercise rights protected under this Chapter or because of a belief the worker may do so.
(6) The protections of this Section 9-4505 shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges a violation of thisChapter.
§ 9-4506. Regulations.
(1) The Enforcement Agency is authorized to coordinate implementation, administration, and enforcement of this Chapter and shallpromulgate appropriate guidelines or regulations for such purposes. Regulations of the Agency concerning minimum protections may
establish different minimum protections for different types of work and may include terms that apply only in the event of a lack of awritten contract.
§ 9-4507. Liability, Administration, Enforcement and Penalties.
(1) Joint Liability. More than one person or entity may have an employment relationship with a domestic worker in connection withthe same work. Individuals and entities with an overlapping employment relationship with a domestic worker are subject to joint andseveral liability, and concurrent fines and penalties, in connection with violations of this Chapter.
(2) A domestic worker or other person representing a Domestic Worker may report to the Agency any suspected violation of thisChapter.
(3) The Agency is authorized to take such steps as it deems appropriate to resolve complaints and enforce this Chapter, including, but
not limited to, establishing a system to receive complaints regarding non-compliance with this Chapter, investigating alleged violations ina timely manner and resolving complaints through mediation.
(4) The Agency shall have the power to subpoena records and testimony from any party to a complaint. Such records shall be
provided to the Agency within thirty (30) days after receipt of the subpoena.
(5) Any person alleging a violation of this Chapter shall file a complaint with the Agency within two years of the date the person
knew or should have known of the alleged violation.
(6) Upon establishment of a system of administrative adjudication, the Agency shall have the power to impose penalties and fines forviolation of this Chapter and to provide or obtain appropriate relief. Remedies may include reinstatement and full restitution to thedomestic worker for lost wages and benefits, including presumed damages to be awarded to a domestic worker for the hiring entity'sviolation of this chapter. The Agency shall also fix by regulation an amount of presumed damages.
(7) A hiring entity who retaliates against an employee for any activity protected under this Chapter shall be a Class III offense under §1-109(3). All other violations of this Chapter shall be Class II offenses under § 1-109(2) of this Code.
(8) Any domestic worker aggrieved by a violation of this Chapter, any entity a member of which is aggrieved by a violation of thischapter, or the City may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against a hiring entity violating this Chapter. Nothing inthis Chapter or its implementing regulations shall be construed to require a complaint to be filed with the Agency before bringing anaction in court. Upon prevailing in an action brought pursuant to this Section, an aggrieved person shall be entitled to such legal orequitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation, that is not duplicative of any relief provided to the person inadministrative proceedings, including, without limitation, reinstatement in employment, back pay and injunctive relief. The aggrieved
person shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorney's fees and cost.
§ 9-4508. Other Protections.
(1) Nothing in this Chapter shall supersede, affect the applicability of, or allow contractual waiver of, the prohibitions andrequirements of Chapter 9-1100 ("Fair Practices Ordinance: Protections Against Unlawful Discrimination"); Chapter 9-4100 ("PromotingHealthy Families and Workplaces"); or any other law that provides protections to domestic workers.
§ 9-4509. Domestic Workers Standards and Implementation Task Force.
(1) The Mayor's Office of Labor is authorized to establish, within ninety days of the passage date of this ordinance, a Domestic
Workers Standards and Implementation Task Force, which shall regularly convene members of the Administration, City Council andaffected stakeholder organizations to discuss mechanisms to support implementation of this Chapter, including regulations promulgatedunder this Chapter.
(2) The Mayor's Office of Labor shall, no less than one time a year, file a report with the Chief Clerk of Council that shall include, inaddition to such other information the Mayor's Office of Labor determines should be included, information concerning Domestic
Workers, and reporting any policy recommendations or findings from the Domestic Workers Standards and Implementation Task Force.
§ 9-4510. Severability.
If any provision of this Chapter or application thereof to any person or circumstance is judged invalid, the invalidity shall not affectother provisions or applications of the Chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end theprovisions of this Chapter are declared severable.

Notes
1164.1

Added, Bill No. 190607 (approved November 12, 2019), effective May 1, 2020.

1164.2

Enrolled bill read "workers"; corrected by Code editor.

1164.3

Enrolled bill read "Section 4-4104"; reference corrected by Code editor.