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Can Little Kids Be Gay? «
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Where in the World is Kenny
Under more pressure from courts, cranky lawyer vanishes by Sean Gardiner June 12th, 2007 5:29 PM The city's most obnoxious lawyer has apparently become the most. . .
Under more pressure from courts, cranky lawyer vanishes by Sean Gardiner June 12th, 2007 5:29 PM The city's most obnoxious lawyer has apparently become the most. . .
Guns Gone Wild
NYPD gunfire goes up while crime goes down. What gives? by Sean Gardiner December 5th, 2006 12:24 PM In the pre-dawn hours of November 25, outside the Kalua Cab. . .
NYPD gunfire goes up while crime goes down. What gives? by Sean Gardiner December 5th, 2006 12:24 PM In the pre-dawn hours of November 25, outside the Kalua Cab. . .
Suspects as Usual
After the Sean Bell shooting, the NYPD opened a surprising investigationinto the victims by Sean Gardiner January 9th, 2007 1:09 PM Thirteen hours after Sean Be. . .
After the Sean Bell shooting, the NYPD opened a surprising investigationinto the victims by Sean Gardiner January 9th, 2007 1:09 PM Thirteen hours after Sean Be. . .
Mopping Up
The ordeal of the New Yorkers sent to clean up the mess at Abu Ghraib by Graham Rayman June 5th, 2007 10:04 PM If you ask some of the members of his military un. . .
The ordeal of the New Yorkers sent to clean up the mess at Abu Ghraib by Graham Rayman June 5th, 2007 10:04 PM If you ask some of the members of his military un. . .
Revolt from Above
A family-run union for security guards ousts its members by Tom Robbins June 12th, 2007 6:06 PM Union membership slipped to an all-time low of 12 percent of the. . .
A family-run union for security guards ousts its members by Tom Robbins June 12th, 2007 6:06 PM Union membership slipped to an all-time low of 12 percent of the. . .
Pizza Shut
The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene got caught with its pants down. It was embarrassed in April when a video, broadcast on local stations and the. . .
The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene got caught with its pants down. It was embarrassed in April when a video, broadcast on local stations and the. . .
Long Sentences, Short Storie
It was not your average setting for a book launch party: the George R. Vierno Center (GRVC), one of 10 jails on Rikers Island. Young men aged 18 to 21 shuffled . . .
It was not your average setting for a book launch party: the George R. Vierno Center (GRVC), one of 10 jails on Rikers Island. Young men aged 18 to 21 shuffled . . .
'Ayo, shorty!'
Brooklyn girls are fighting back against the boys who harass them by Chlo A. Hilliard June 19th, 2007 8:31 PM Even a poster declaring Street Harassment is a Cri. . .
Brooklyn girls are fighting back against the boys who harass them by Chlo A. Hilliard June 19th, 2007 8:31 PM Even a poster declaring Street Harassment is a Cri. . .
Shots in the Dark
New worries about HPV vaccine for kidsother than foes' warnings of promiscuity by Jeneen Interlandi June 19th, 2007 8:39 PM When several states tried earlier th. . .
New worries about HPV vaccine for kidsother than foes' warnings of promiscuity by Jeneen Interlandi June 19th, 2007 8:39 PM When several states tried earlier th. . .
Daddy's Dog
Saying she's treated no better than a stray cur, the fifth wife of 'Daddy's Girl' millionaire Bruce McMahan breaks her silence by Kelly Cramer June 19th, 2007 9. . .
Saying she's treated no better than a stray cur, the fifth wife of 'Daddy's Girl' millionaire Bruce McMahan breaks her silence by Kelly Cramer June 19th, 2007 9. . .
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Runnin' Scared: New York's Baby-Sitters Want Their Fair Share by Maria Luisa Tuc
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Nanny McFee
New York's baby-sitters want their fair share
by Maria Luisa Tucker
June 19th, 2007 8:38 PM
It's not a bad-sounding list of job benefits: starting pay at $14 an hour, employer-provided health insurance, four weeks of paid vacation after five years, and five weeks after 10 years. Add to that free lunches and generous time to hang out in Central Park. Plenty of working stiffs in this town would love to have it so good, including the nannies who are fighting for that list of job perks.
A proposed domestic workers' bill of rights, which cleared the State Senate labor committee last week, would provide all those benefits. The bill proposes a $12 minimum wage for domestic workers ($14 per hour by 2010), overtime pay, generous paid vacation and sick leave, advance notice of termination and severance pay. It also mandates an extra $2 hourly wage hike for nannies without employer-provided health insurance. If passed, it would be enforced primarily through the courts. Domestic workers would be able to file complaints with the Department of Labor or sue in civil court if their employers fail to provide any of these benefits. If employers are found to have willfully withheld some of these benefits, they could be charged with a misdemeanor crime. Nannies are already becoming more emboldened to go to court for the one thing that they can sue for now: back pay. The non-profit Urban Justice Center has quietly helped a handful of nannies win an estimated $500,000 in unpaid wages from former employers. "The greater public knowledge, the more workers are coming forward," says staff attorney Haeyoung Yoon.
Among several recent cases was that of Encarnita Asuncion. After almost four years working as a nanny for a Park Avenue family, Asuncion abruptly left her job, claiming that she was regularly underpaid and, on one occasion, physically assaulted. She filed suit against her employers, Drs. Lynne Jacobs and Avery Scheiner. The family settled on May 29, giving Asuncion an undisclosed amount. Neither Asuncion nor her former employers would comment on the settlement.
While there are harrowing cases of rampant abuse, the main complaint among nannies is simply low pay and little job security. Such was the case for Dee, who did not want to give her last name for fear that it would prevent her from finding a new job. The 46-year-old nanny from Trinidad is still fuming that her employers—a Wall Street executive and a music tutor—fired her last month after she took a week off to have necessary surgery. "I told them I have a family too, and my kids don't want to see me dead!" Now she's fighting over her last paycheck, which she says was about $1,000 short in promised severance pay. Dee would not disclose her employers' names while there is still a chance that the dispute can be resolved amicably.
Supporters of nanny lawsuits and the domestic workers' bill of rights say that more protections are needed for workers who are often underpaid, overworked and sometimes abused. According to a survey by Domestic Workers United, the vast majority of New York's 200,000 domestic workers makes less than $14 an hour and do not have employer-provided health insurance. The survey also noted that 21 percent have been verbally abused and 1 percent physically abused by their employers. "This bill is about justice, it's about equity, it's about dignity and respect," says Assemblyman Keith Wright, who represents upper Manhattan and is sponsoring the bill. Although it's the third time around for the proposed legislation—similar bills died in committee in the 2004 and 2005 legislative sessions—recent headlines have renewed the sense of urgency. In May, a Long Island couple was arrested for holding two Indonesian domestic workers captive for years, paying them very little and regularly assaulting one of them.
While some employers support greater protections for nannies, there is a contingent of budget-conscious parents who wonder if the proposed domestic workers' bill of rights would bankrupt them. "Why should domestic workers get twice the minimum wage?" asked one mother on urbanbaby.com's chat board. Another mom wrote that the bill was "absurd," considering that "most of us don't even get three weeks of vacation. My nanny should get four?"
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More by Sarah Ferguson
Where in the World is Kenny
Under more pressure from courts, cranky lawyer vanishes by Sean Gardiner June 12th, 2007 5:29 PM The city's most obnoxious lawyer has apparently become the most Guns Gone Wild NYPD gunfire goes up while crime goes down. What gives? by Sean Gardiner December 5th, 2006 12:24 PM In the pre-dawn hours of November 25, outside the Kalua Cab Suspects as Usual After the Sean Bell shooting, the NYPD opened a surprising investigationinto the victims by Sean Gardiner January 9th, 2007 1:09 PM Thirteen hours after Sean Be Mopping Up The ordeal of the New Yorkers sent to clean up the mess at Abu Ghraib by Graham Rayman June 5th, 2007 10:04 PM If you ask some of the members of his military un Revolt from Above A family-run union for security guards ousts its members by Tom Robbins June 12th, 2007 6:06 PM Union membership slipped to an all-time low of 12 percent of the Pizza Shut The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene got caught with its pants down. It was embarrassed in April when a video, broadcast on local stations and the Long Sentences, Short Storie It was not your average setting for a book launch party: the George R. Vierno Center (GRVC), one of 10 jails on Rikers Island. Young men aged 18 to 21 shuffled 'Ayo, shorty!' Brooklyn girls are fighting back against the boys who harass them by Chlo A. Hilliard June 19th, 2007 8:31 PM Even a poster declaring Street Harassment is a Cri Shots in the Dark New worries about HPV vaccine for kidsother than foes' warnings of promiscuity by Jeneen Interlandi June 19th, 2007 8:39 PM When several states tried earlier th Daddy's Dog Saying she's treated no better than a stray cur, the fifth wife of 'Daddy's Girl' millionaire Bruce McMahan breaks her silence by Kelly Cramer June 19th, 2007 9 |
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