Golden Gate University School of Law Celebrates Permanent Overtime Rights for California Domestic Workers

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 13, 2016 -- Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. yesterday signed SB 1015, a bill making overtime rights permanent for more than 300,000 nannies and caregivers for seniors and people with disabilities. Golden Gate University School of Law’s Women’s Employment Rights Clinic (WERC) has served as legal counsel to the California Domestic Workers Coalition since 2010 in the Coalition’s effort to extend basic wage and hour protections to domestic workers. 

In 2013, Governor Brown signed AB 241, sponsored by the Coalition, extending for the first time overtime rights to domestic workers; the bill was set to sunset in January 2017. Now, with SB 1015, these overtime rights are a permanent reality. WERC provided technical and legal support to the Coalition on both bills.  

“California was one of the first states to regulate long hours and impose overtime premium pay at the turn of the twentieth century. Today, Governor Brown recognized that there was no justification to exclude domestic workers from this fundamental protection,” said Professor Hina Shah, director of WERC. “It has been an honor for our students and for us to be part of this grassroots, worker-led movement for dignity and fairness in the workplace.”

About GGU Law’s Women’s Employment Rights Clinic (WERC)
The Women's Employment Rights Clinic (WERC) of Golden Gate University School of Law was established in 1993 to serve as a training ground for the next generation of ethical, competent and socially responsible professionals and to provide critical legal services and support to the community. The Clinic's mission is centered on ensuring that every worker has the right to economic fairness, equal opportunity and dignity in the workplace. Our mission is to collaborate with grassroots, community-based organizations and worker centers to enhance their capacity for systemic change. Our individual and impact cases are informed and are coordinated in partnership with broader community campaigns for economic justice.

About GGU Law
Golden Gate University School of Law offers full- and part-time law programs that blend practical skills training with legal theory to prepare students to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, and leaders, with the flexibility to respond to changes in the legal profession. Our mission is to produce a diverse group of graduates with the skill, judgment, and moral compass to become exceptional lawyers and socially responsible members of the global community.

Media inquiries:

Hina Shah, Director, Women’s Employment Rights Clinic
Golden Gate University School of Law
415-442-6619
[email protected]

Silvia Baroni, Associate Director of Communications and Media Relations
Golden Gate University
415-442-6522
[email protected]