As Mark reported in a previous blog post, the New Jersey Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights became effective on July 1, 2024. If you employ domestic workers in your home, you are likely to be considered an employer under the statute and need to create a contract for your domestic employees.
The law’s definition of domestic workers includes any person who is working “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.”
The definition does not include those performing less than 5 hours of work per month, house or pet sitters or dog walkers, someone operating a business out of their home (ex. day care), or workers performing maintenance.
Those considered employers under the statue must provide domestic workers with a contract and advise them of their rights under the statute.
The contract must include the following information:
- 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 of housing 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 employer
Just as important, the statute lists certain things that are prohibited from being in the contract:
- Mandatory arbitration clauses
- Non-disclosure agreement, or non-competition or non-disparagement agreement that limit the ability of the domestic worker to seek compensation for performing domestic services.
Additionally, employers of domestic workers must give at least two weeks’ notice before terminating a domestic worker’s employment, and four weeks’ notice for live in domestic workers.
The state has issued a model contract on their website in both English and Spanish. Employers of domestic workers are not required to use the model contract, but it may be a good starting point.