Paid Care Workers

Domestic Worker Mediation Program

The City launched a Domestic Worker Mediation Program to help domestic workers and their employers resolve workplace issues in a respectful, confidential, and free way without going to court. Download Domestic Worker Mediation Program flyer in English | Español (Spanish) | عربي (Arabic) | বাংলা (Bengali) | 中文 - 简化字 (Chinese - Simplified) | 中文 - 繁體字 (Chinese - Traditional) | Français (French) | Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian-Creole) | 한국어 (Korean) | नेपाली Nepali | Język Polski (Polish) | Русский (Russian) | Tagalog (Tagalog) | ردو (Urdu)

Paid Care Division

If you are a paid care worker in NYC, you have a dedicated City resource for workplace questions and complaints: the Paid Care Division within the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Office of Labor Policy & Standards.

Paid care workers include homecare and domestic workers such as:

• Nannies
• Caregivers
• Home care workers (for example: home health aides, personal care aides, home attendants)
• Housecleaners

The Paid Care Division is dedicated to defending the rights of paid care workers, improving the quality of paid care jobs, and strengthening the paid care system. We support paid care workers in NYC through:

• Public outreach and education to inform workers about their rights and the availability of City resources.
• Enforcement and complaint intake and referral to address workplace violations at the local, state, and federal levels. Learn more about workplace protection laws, including Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law, Freelance Isn't Free Act, and Temporary Schedule Change Law. 
• Research and policy development on worker demographics, working conditions and industry standards, employer compliance with workplace laws, and the effectiveness of worker cooperatives.

Using an Employment Agency?

• An Employment Agency must give a completed Job Description Form to every job applicant the Agency refers to a position as a Domestic or Household Employee. Download Job Description Form.
• Read Domestic or Household Employees: Statement of Employee Rights and Employer Responsibilities in English or Español (Spanish). The handout describes some of the basic rights of nannies, house cleaners, and other household employees employed directly by an individual household only and some responsibilities that their employers must fulfill under New York City, New York State, and federal law.
• Get more tips when working with an employment agency. 

File a Complaint or Ask a Question

• Use DCWP Online Services to file a complaint online about:
  • Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law
  • Freelance Isn't Free Act
  • Temporary Schedule Change Law
• Get information on how to submit a complaint by email or mail.
• Use DCWP Online Services to ask a question online or contact DCWP in one of the following ways:
  • Email OLPS@dcwp.nyc.gov
  • Call 311 (212-NEW-YORK outside NYC)