More than 2 million California households rely on domestic workers to care for their loved ones and keep their living space clean and safe, but new research reveals that many of these vital workers are systematically deprived of basic wage protections.
A report by the Workplace Justice Lab, a multi-institutional partnership including Northwestern University that focuses on strengthening labor standards enforcement in the U.S., reveals that 20% of California's domestic workers are illegally paid below the minimum wage, costing each affected worker an average of $4,200 per year in lost earnings. (Full report | Executive Summary | Resumen Ejecutivo en Español)
"Domestic work is the backbone of California's care economy, yet because it happens behind closed doors, it remains uniquely vulnerable to exploitation," said Daniel J. Galvin, director of the Workplace Justice Lab @ Northwestern University and co-author of the report. "The sheer scale of the wage theft documented in our report - $2.8 billion over a decade - proves that these are not isolated incidents, but rather a systemic failure to protect a workforce that millions of families rely on every day."
Analyzing federal data for the years 2014 to 2023, Workplace Justice Lab researchers found:
- On average, 67,000 of the state's 330,000 domestic workers were underpaid annually.
- Of them, the average worker lost 22% of their earnings, or just under $4,200 per year.
- Domestic workers lost a combined $282 million annually and $2.8 billion over 10 years.
- House cleaners and in-home childcare workers faced the highest rates of wage theft.
- Non-citizens, workers without a high school diploma, and those who are paid weekly or piece-rate, as opposed to hourly, were more likely to experience wage theft.
Working in private households, far from the watchful eyes of labor investigators, California's domestic workers clean homes, prepare meals and care for children, the elderly and people with disabilities. The workforce is overwhelmingly women and people of color, with about half identifying as Latina. The majority work for agencies, while some are employed by families.
Strikingly, the report finds that 74% of California's domestic workers are U.S. citizens by birth or naturalization, 80% speak English well, and 45% have gone to college. They have successfully organized to raise their median hourly wage from $8 to $15 in recent years, but it is still far below the $25 median wage for other Californians, and wage theft is pervasive.
"It's already hard to survive on the minimum wage, let alone raise a family," said Jake Barnes, research program manager of the Workplace Justice Lab @ Rutgers University and the report's lead author. "But when you lose hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year to minimum wage theft, it becomes virtually impossible to support yourself and your loved ones."
The California Domestic Workers Coalition, a domestic worker-led statewide alliance of community-based organizations, domestic employers, worker centers, labor unions, faith groups, students and policy advocates, is leading efforts to improve labor standards enforcement for a workforce that is frequently driven into the shadows.
"This report underscores how egregious wage theft is in the domestic work industry," said Megan Whelan Escobar, interim director of the California Domestic Workers Coalition. "The people who care for our children, clean our homes, and support our elders deserve to be paid every dollar they earn. We must strengthen enforcement and ensure that the laws meant to protect domestic workers are real in practice, not just on paper. It's time to listen to domestic workers about the solutions that they are calling for to stop exploitation in the industry."
One domestic worker, whose former employer attempted wage theft, launched a complaint with the Labor Commissioner's Office in Los Angeles. She fought for and won unpaid wages and overtime. She said, "I moved forward with this so that other domestic workers will not be afraid to fight for overtime and fair wages. How is it possible to do this to workers? I'm hoping that my actions will inspire and protect other workers."
Another domestic worker said, "People are scared. Scared of being deported, scared of losing our jobs. But it's very important that we stand up for our rights. That we get a dignified wage, that we get paid for overtime hours, that we get breaks and time off. It's a right that we struggled and fought for and it took years to win it."
About the Researchers
Jake Barnes is the research program manager for the Workplace Justice Lab @ RU.
Daniel J. Galvin is the director of the Workplace Justice Lab @ NU, a professor of political science and a faculty fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern.
Ellen Love is the labor standards enforcement manager for the Workplace Justice Lab's partnership with the UC Berkeley Labor Center and formerly implemented local labor laws for the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement.
Jenn Round is the director of the Beyond the Bill program for the Workplace Justice Lab @ NU and formerly led enforcement at the Seattle Office of Labor Standards.
Janice Fine is the director of the Workplace Justice Lab @ RU and a professor of labor studies and employment relations in the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers.
The Workplace Justice Lab is a multi-institutional partnership that conducts research on workers' rights and economic inequality and collaborates with state and local government agencies as well as worker centers, unions and legal nonprofits. It is anchored by Northwestern and Rutgers Universities and the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California.
