QUESTION
How can NYC agencies collaborate to enforce protections for domestic workers?
1:02:13
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166 sec
NYC agencies are exploring collaborative measures to enforce protections for domestic workers and address overlapping cases. - The Commission on Human Rights and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection are creating pathways to refer overlapping cases, especially for domestic workers. - These collaborations include sharing jurisdictions, conducting joint outreach, and attending events together to inform workers and advocates about changes in the law. - A discussed example of creative collaboration is the creation of a domestic worker mediation program to address a range of issues beyond traditional authority areas.
Julie Menin
1:02:13
I KNOW THAT chair Williams and I share the concern about staffing at your agency and resources and trying to make sure things you get the proper resources you need to really be able to aggressively enforce your mandate.
1:02:28
Is there some kind of out side of the box way to work with DCWP to the extent that there are some overlapping cases, what can be done to to try to creatively address that?
JoAnn Kamuf Ward
1:02:42
I I think the answer has to be yes.
1:02:45
And I think we are we have in the space say of domestic workers where we both have jurisdiction, our law is amended to give domestic work even if they're an employee an an employment space, the size of 1, the same discrimination protections as others.
1:03:01
DCWP also has domestic worker protection.
1:03:05
So we have internally created pathways to refer those cases and identify if we are dealing with someone in a domestic worker setting and its discrimination, is there also a wage and hour violation?
1:03:17
Is there also something that that is within DC WPs realm.
1:03:21
So that's on the enforcement side, which I think our our enforcement folks could speak to more.
1:03:26
I think on that on that outreach side, It is in being in spaces together and for sure around domestic workers.
1:03:33
That's another area where I personally would would be at events with the DCWP deputy commissioners to talk about changes in the law and what those mean to wide ranges domestic workers and other advocates.
1:03:46
So I think that's a very useful model.
1:03:50
And I think we're open to any and all, so suggestions and continuing
Julie Menin
1:03:54
this conversation.
1:03:55
Agrees it would be great to do a convening with the 2 agencies and us and our committees and try to think outside of the box about ways given the limited resources that you have of the agencies to further collaborate both on outreach and on case disposition to see how to be because I know that oftentimes are silos, and I'm not saying you too are siloed, but ways to kinda break down those silos and and see how we can think outside of the box.
1:04:19
On that.
Carlos Ortiz
1:04:20
One thing I wanted to just to piggyback when you're mentioning on domestic workers, I think it's a great example.
1:04:25
Recently, we we we announced this past year domestic worker mediation program in collaboration with the office administrative trials and hearings.
1:04:32
And that is really, I think, a creative approach to some of the issues that are affecting domestic workers in the sense that we can bring a worker and an employer into a room and figure out how to mediate a range of issues that we perhaps don't even have that traditionally we might have authority over, for example, wage an hour, but we do have authority to overpay safe and sick leave, for example.
1:04:51
And the mediation gives an opportunity to address all issues in that situation.
1:04:55
So I I think that's a great example that the deputy commission brought up.
Julie Menin
1:04:58
Okay.
