Updated: 6:30 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council has passed many worker protection laws, but a bill introduced Thursday would strengthen the enforcement of those laws.
Dozens testified in support of the bill, many of them non-English speakers and domestic workers, who are among those most dependent on city protections.
Mitch Harewood, a local nanny, emphasized the vulnerability of domestic workers, stating, “When someone’s home is your workplace, you’re at the mercy of your employer.”
“Domestic workers don’t have an HR department,” Harewood said.
Philadelphia has substantial labor laws. Unionized or not, Philadelphia workers have protections against wage theft, worker retaliation, sick leave, and domestic worker rights. However, workers have reported that employers continue to withhold wages and retaliate against those who report labor law violations.
Councilmember Kendra Brooks is the chief sponsor of the POWER (Protect Our Workers, Enforce Rights) Act. The bill would grant the city’s Department of Labor broader authority to investigate employers and take direct enforcement action. It would also establish a worker justice fund to compensate those harmed by abusive employers.
“I’m really excited to have the group of colleagues I have that believe in the work. And in this current climate, it’s even more important that we protect our workers — even if we have to have small wins on a local level until we can get something greater,” Brooks said.
She said these are incremental steps, but believes they’ll make a difference
“What I’ve learned in government is, it’s a slow churn. All the work we did during COVID, we were only able to move it a little bit,” Brooks said. “Now, we have a different appetite. The fact that we had 13 people sign on from the beginning means that we’re probably able to take this much further.”
Brooks, a member of the Working Families Party, noted that many workers who rely on city protections are immigrants, making them particularly vulnerable to employer retaliation.
The bill has support from more than a dozen labor and social justice organizations.