Photo by Rachael Warriner
After three years of domestic worker-led organizing, Philadelphia passes the POWER (Protect Our Worker-Enforce Rights) Act!
This is a groundbreaking law that:
- Expands protections against retaliation for workers that speak out against abuse
- Strengthens labor enforcement of existing labor laws, including the Philadelphia Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, Wage Theft Ordinance, Paid Sick Leave Law, and more
- Holds violating employers accountable
- Ensures that the city government has the tools and resources to protect workers
- Protects over 750,000 workers across the city, regardless of immigration status
- And much more, look below for what this law does in more detail
This victory was made possible by a powerful, cross-sector coalition of workers, led by domestic workers, restaurant staff, warehouse workers, and more, who have long been excluded from basic labor protections and have organized to demand change. Our prime sponsor for the bill was Philadelphia Councilmember Kendra Brooks.
The POWER Act is a groundbreaking law that sets a precedent for how cities can step in where federal labor protections have fallen short. At a time when workers across the country—particularly immigrant workers, domestic workers, restaurant and service workers, and other low-wage laborers—face rollbacks in rights and limited paths to justice, Philadelphia is leading the way.
Want to learn more? Read the summary below and the full text of the law here.
Want to get in touch with the NDWA Philadelphia Chapter? Contact [email protected]
Who is protected by the POWER Act?
All Philadelphia workers, regardless of immigration status, are protected by this legislation. We estimate that over 750,000 Philadelphians who rely on the Office of Worker Protections to enforce their labor rights will benefit from this legislation.
What does the POWER Act do?
Prevents Retaliation
- Creates new retaliation protections for workers and shifts the burden of proof from the worker to the employer after an employee stands up for their rights
Immigration Certification
- Sets up clear guidelines and procedures for the Office of Worker Protections to certify applications for immigration relief. This solidifies the DoL’s power to certify that the immigrant worker has suffered a violation of their labor rights, which is used in their application for U visas, T visas, or other forms of immigration relief
Compensation for Workers
- Provides damages directly to workers, to compensate for the harm they suffered from employer violations of their workplace rights
- Authorizes the creation of a Worker Justice Fund to compensate workers who face retaliation, which could be funded through the fines that go to the City based on employer violations
Creates a Bad Actors Database for Abusive Employers
- Employers are added to a publicly available Bad Actors Database:
- For multiple labor law violations
- For failure to comply with a judgment
- Employers are removed from the database:
- After two years without additional violations
- After complying with the judgment
Updates Sick Pay
- More accurately calculates the sick pay for tipped workers under the existing Paid Sick Leave Ordinance in order to reduce the large financial penalty for tipped workers who call out sick
Provides the Office of Worker Protections with the tools they need to enforce workers’ rights
It gives the department the power to:
- Suspend the licenses and procurement contracts for bad employers
- Investigate the whole workplace for violations when they learn of one complaint (“wall-to-wall” investigations)
- Initiate proactive investigations of abusive employers
- Subpoena records
- Better enforce findings against abusive employers in court
Government Accountability and Stronger Worker Rights
- Establishes basic processes for workers when they make complaints to the Office of Worker Protections to ensure more accountability from the government, like receiving written confirmation of the receipt of complaints, periodic status updates, and a clarified appeals process
- Ensures better accountability of the Office of Worker Protections through mandated public reporting