by Cody Calamaio | Staff writer

While working as a housekeeper for a family of diplomats in Potomac 10 years ago, domestic worker Antonia Pena, 33, used to beg her employers to let her leave the house to study English. Getting time off was never a problem when Pena worked in her native Colombia, but she quickly learned the contract that brought her to the United States was ignored, and she felt powerless to stop it.

Pena, who now lives in Silver Spring and works for a family in Vienna, Va., returns to churches and the bus stop in Potomac as a volunteer with Casa of Maryland, a nonprofit immigrant advocacy organization, to teach other domestic workers about their rights and encourage them to seek help when they face abuse.

Pena has been volunteering for years, but a new resource for the people she's trying to help became available in January 2009, when the County Council passed a law requiring employers to provide domestic workers with a written contract detailing terms of employment.

Since its passage, however, the county hasn't received any reports of malfeasance, let alone assessed any penalties.

"There have been no complaints yet about failure to comply with the law and we don't know what that means," said County Councilman George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park, who co-sponsored the legislation with Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At large) of Takoma Park.

Eric Friedman, director of the county Office of Consumer Protection, which is charged with receiving complaints, said the lack of reports could stem from multiple factors.

"I think it has to do with cultural barriers where people, perhaps in the Hispanic community more than other communities, don't have a long history of trusting government," Friedman said. "People from other countries are more familiar calling radio stations that are in their language or talking to their neighbors or church or other organization."

Who's responsible?

Representatives from Casa of Maryland, which pushed for the law, told the County Council's Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday that they continue to see abused workers, but have not made any reports to the county because they are waiting for a strong case. Another reason for the lack of reporting is that representatives believe some cases would not qualify because of the employer's diplomatic status.

"We can't keep fighting these things case by case. To really change things we need to organize and build power amongst domestic workers, "said Ashwini Jaisingh, domestic worker organizer with Casa of Maryland. "Once the contract is signed, the law doesn't necessarily go further."

Part of the reluctance to report, Jaisingh said, is because the Montgomery County law only provides domestic workers with the right to a written contract. In many of the cases Casa sees, a contract is in place but ignored. Violations of the contract, such as wage disputes, are the responsibility of state agencies.

Still, Friedman said the purpose of the Office of Consumer Protection is to sync people with the right government agency that can help them.

"We try to not let anyone fall to the cracks, even if we can't help them we try to make a referral," Friedman said. "We really operate as first-line responders."

Jaisingh said Casa of Maryland only reports major cases that are "viable and likely to result in action" to state agencies because they feel smaller cases will be overlooked. When a feasible case comes to their attention they usually get their lawyers involved to engage the employer directly.

"What's the use of filling out a piece of paperwork that's going sit in records when there are not enforcement mechanisms in place?" Jaisingh said.

Also, the current law is only a fraction of an extensive domestic worker's bill of rights Casa of Maryland originally lobbied the county to create, Jaisingh said. That bill would have included provisions such as a maximum six-day work week.

Even if the Office of Consumer Protection would not be the agency that responds, Leventhal said it is important that the county keep a record of written complaints.

"I don't think it's a weak law at all. It is unprecedented in America," Leventhal said in an interview Tuesday.

At Thursday's meeting, in response to Casa's examples of continued abuse, Leventhal questioned why the group hasn't been filing reports.

"I'm not hearing that you're availing yourself of the law that the presidents of Casa lobbied us very hard to enact," Leventhal said. "So then we enacted it, and you're aware of complaints and it doesn't sound like you're availing yourself to the law we've already got."

Casa of Maryland tries to act as a bridge between government resources and the domestic workers who also need stability and personal support, Kim Propeack, director of community organizing and political outreach for Casa of Maryland, explained in a later interview.

"Just sending somebody to the county agency would not be the wraparound approach that the worker really needs," Propeack said. "In cases where they don't have those other types of help they usually just disappear."

Leventhal plans to create an outreach campaign to remind employers to comply with the law and to encourage workers to come forward if they believe their rights are violated.

"I'm a legislator. I never assume that just passing the law is enough." Leventhal said Tuesday. "You need to add an educational aspect."

Since the law took effect, the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection has received 4,200 hits on its domestic workers web page and 600 hits on a model contract. Because investigators can only look into potential violations if they are reported, they have no other way to gauge its effectiveness.

Friedman believes the law's effectiveness hasn't fully been measured.

"Once one person files a complaint and word gets out. Then two people file a complaint and word gets out," Friedman said. "I think that'll take a little bit of time but that's how change can be made."

For Pena, she plans to continue her outreach efforts, as workers often can't seek help because their employers keep them isolated and ignorant of the world around them.

"We came only with them. If you don't believe them, who believes you? They are the only people you know," Pena said. "Potomac is beautiful, so like castles and everything, but they don't know that sometimes, somebody in there suffers."

-The law applies to people who work primarily in a residence in Montgomery County for at least 20 hours per week for at least a 30-day period.

-Employers are required to negotiate with domestic workers on the terms and conditions of employment and offer to sign a written contract.

-The contract must include work schedule, duties, salary, overtime, payment schedule, time off, living conditions, length of the contract and termination details.

-Violator are subject to a civil penalty of as much as $1,000.

-A model contract and a complaint form are available on the county's website.

Call the Office of Consumer Protection at 240-777-3636 for details.

Source: Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection

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