Nanny Statists Propose New Laws for Babysitting
As if California needed more laws to regulate our already hindered personal lives: Assembly Bill 889, Authored by Tom Ammiano of San Francisco, will now require household employers to provide breaks every two hours to their babysitters:
Here’s more from the flash report and Senator Doug LaMalfa:
Under AB 889, household “employers” (aka “parents”) who hire a babysitter on a Friday night will be legally obligated to pay at least minimum wage to any sitter over the age of 18 (unless it is a family member), provide a substitute caregiver every two hours to cover rest and meal breaks, in addition to workers’ compensation coverage, overtime pay, and a meticulously calculated timecard/paycheck. Failure to abide by any of these provisions may result in a legal cause of action against the employer including cumulative penalties, attorneys’ fees, legal costs and expenses associated with hiring expert witnesses, an unprecedented measure of legal recourse provided no other class of workers – from agricultural laborers to garment manufacturers. (On the bright side, language requiring an hour of paid vacation time for every 30 hours worked was amended out of the bill in the Senate.)
This is completely ridiculous. Babysitters and caregivers, who often are sole proprietors, should be able to determine how they run their business along with any contractual conditions based on their personal needs and limitations. The government stepping in just complicates a normally painless and relaxed exchange of value between two sovereign individuals. Those conditions should be balanced by a demand for their services, not by Sacramento.
The California socialist fairytale continues. This adds even more fuel to the fire for getting signatures on the petition demanding a fair redraw of the State Senate Districts. If the Democrats get control of the Senate, expect even more of these cockamamie proposals.
