Maybe Babysitters Should Get Union Cards

There's probably nothing California legislators could do to shock anyone at this point, but Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's AB 889 is pretty crazy even by our standards. The union-sponsored bill would: "regulate the wages, hours, and working conditions of domestic work employees, provide a private right of action for domestic work employees, including liquidated damages, and would provide an overtime compensation rate for domestic work employees." The legislation is apparently still alive as the session winds to a halt. If this isn't an argument for a part-time Legislature, I don't know what is. As my colleague John Seiler wrote, "It would force you to follow complex state regulations every time you hired domestic help, including a babysitter. Absurdly, your babysitter would have to get a break every two hours. From what, writing on Facebook while your kids are asleep?" Past legislation unionized in-home health workers -- i.e., relatives who receive payments from the state to take care of their own sick relatives. Maybe your babysitter will soon be seen on the Capitol steps saying, "!Si, se puede!"