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The bill will provide better quality of life for home care workers and building service workers. It will increase the income of these workers and reduce the taxpayer funded social programs in other areas requiring an hourly wage that meets the self-sufficiency standard of Westchester County and encourage payment of health benefits. It will require that certain businesses that contract with or receive assistance from the County in order to provide Home Care or Building Services, pay their employees the following living wage incentive:
1) commencing January 1, 2004: $10.00 per hour plus $1.50 for health insurance benefits; or $11.50 without benefits;
2) commencing January 1,2005: $10.75 per hour plus $1.50 for health insurance benefits; or $12.25 without benefits;
3) commencing January 1, 2006: $11.50 per hour plus $1.50 for health insurance; or $13.00 without benefits.
4) In addition, these Covered Employers will also be required to provide at least 12 compensated days leave per year to these Covered Employees.
5) It will set up a Child Care Living Wage Task Force that will research and develop a proposal to cover child care workers by August 1, 2003.
The Westchester/Putnam Central Labor Body would like to thank all of the legislators who voted for the bill, the County Executive for signing it and all the enthusiastic supporters who came to the many meetings or testified in support of the bill at either of the two hearings. County Legislators George Latimer, Andrea Stewart Cousins, and James Maisano were initial sponsors of the bill but we also need to thank the following other legislators for supporting the bill: Lois Bronz, Bill Ryan, Richard Wishnie, Tom Abinanti, Clinton Young, Bernice Spreckman, Jose Alvarado, Martin Rowosky, and Lou Mosiello. Please make a point to thank them if you see them.
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