The Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), a division of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), has jurisdiction over all employment and places of employment in California, and the power necessary to enforce and administer all occupational health and safety laws and standards at such places of employment. However, historically, household domestic services were excluded from the definition of a “place of employment” and therefore DOSH’s jurisdiction.
Senate Bill 1350 (SB 1350) removes this exemption, providing DOSH jurisdiction over household domestic services with the following exceptions:
- Household domestic service that is publicly funded, including publicly funded household domestic service provided to a recipient, client, or beneficiary with a share of the cost of that service.
- Employment in family daycare homes, as defined.
- Individuals who, in their own residences, privately employ persons to perform for the benefit of such individuals what are commonly regarded as ordinary domestic household tasks, including housecleaning, cooking, and caregiving.
All other household domestic services must adhere to DOSH’s requirements.
(SB 1350 amends section 6303 of the Labor Code.)