One in five BME workers said they received unfair treatment because of their ethnicity.More than 1,200 got in touch with the union body. "Having a respectful verbal conversation with somebody goes a really long way.In June the TUC launched a call for evidence for BME workers to share their experiences of work during Covid-19. "Start identifying when you're about to say something that could be interpreted as offensive," she said. She suggested that customers consider changing their overall approach towards wait staff. "I think that people who are being harassed should start standing up for themselves more and letting people know that it makes them uncomfortable hearing comments about how they look while they're working and being sexualized while you're trying to make a living," she said. She said the customer brought ordered a round of drinks and when, "I brought him the change and he held the change in his hand and said, 'The only way you're going to get a tip is if you give me a hug.'" Some of them also include industry standards such as paid sick days.Īmanda DiGregory says while working at a bar in Pittsburgh, a customer said he wouldn't give her a tip unless she hugged him.Īs a bartender, Amanda DiGregory, 30, from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, said she often has to deal with unwanted attention and comments from patrons.ĭiGregory said she was once harassed by a customer while working at a bar in downtown Pittsburgh. The organization has helped pass legislation in eight states - California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Nevada and Oregon - that it has dubbed the "Domestic Worker Bill of Rights." Different states have different variations on the law, but it includes closing the legal loophole on very basic protections for domestic workers such as minimum wage pay, overtime, freedom from sexual harassment and a day of rest.
They have over 60 affiliate organizations in 37 cities around the country, including Arise Chicago in Illinois. The NDWA says it members include more than 20,000 nannies, housekeepers, and caregivers for the elderly and people with disabilities across 18 states. Organizations like the National Domestic Workers Alliance are helping to fill that void by working to change laws that will give domestic workers, most of whom say are women, more protections on the job. That’s why I’m saying, we are invisible.įederal law states workers must be paid at least minimum wage for the hours worked, but many domestic workers are unaware of their rights, and many don’t feel they have anyone to fight for them. "I wanted to get my payment back, the money that was owed to me,” she said. But like other domestic workers, she works alone, with no supervisor or human resources department, and she was unsure if she would ever get paid. In another incident, Etelbina said she had to flee a client’s house in fear. She said one time a client called her for a house cleaning job, but when she arrived, she said, “He wanted sexual services.” Madison said she's now coming forward because, “I can't imagine a 16-year-old girl working there and not knowing what to do and being so afraid, and I don't want them to get away with it anymore.”Įtelbina Hauser, an American citizen from Honduras, is a hard-working domestic worker in Seattle who said she has constantly had to pray for her own safety. The IHOP corporation said they are very concerned about any question of harassment in the workplace and hold their franchises to high standards. The franchise owner has denied all wrongdoing but gave “20/20” no further comment. They have now filed a lawsuit against the franchise.
It was only after she left the restaurant that she said she learned of 10 other women who had been working at the same franchise who claimed to have their own stories about sexual harassment and assault there. “And I think I blamed myself for a long time and that's why I never talked about it to anyone, because I thought maybe I did something.” “I feel so naïve for even going in the car to begin with,” the now 23-year-old told Diane Sawyer. Madison said she continued to work there for another year. “He said, ‘Well, it's not worth it if you're not enjoying it.’ So then I got out of the car and I went into work.”Īfterwards, she said the franchise owner and the two male managers, including one who she claimed had assaulted her in his car, warned her not to say anything not only to protect her job but also protect their families. “And then he grabbed the back of my head and pushed my head down … he just kept pushing my head up and down,” Madison said. When she got into his car, she said he unzipped his pants and exposed himself. One day, Madison said one of the two managers asked her to run a personal errand with him before the shift started.
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