Do you have a choice for the worst bill in the California legislature?
If so, we'd love to hear from you at Prop Zero.
And to get the conversation started, here's my choice: AB 889.
What I am about to tell you about AB 889 is not a joke. It is real.
This is a bill that requires you to carry workers compensation coverage, pay overtime, provide breaks and compile a detailed pay stub for virtually any person who does domestic work in your home.
Including babysitters.
Read and watch our complete coverage here.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Of course, abuse of domestic workers is a real problem in California. But such a law -- which is unlikely to be followed or enforced -- doesn't really do anything about that problem.
It merely exhibits a mindset that no transaction -- even paying a college kid to watch your kids -- should be free from the long arm of government.
It's almost as if the sponsor, San Francisco legislator Tom Ammiano, is determined to embdoy the worst caricatures of San Francisco liberals.
Even if this bill were to be passed -- and it's remarkably still alive as of this writing -- don't expect that nothing will come of it.
The bill gives your babysitter the opportunity to seek legal redress, presumably through a wage and hour lawsuit, against you. These sorts of lawsuits have been used against fast-food providers who didn't play by California's onerous wage and hour laws.
In the world we live in, one has to wonder if there's a judge somewhere that wouldn't certify a class action of babysitters. Talk about a babysitters club.
Let us know what you think. Comment below, send us your thoughts via Twitter @PropZero or add your comment to our Facebook page.
