First Shift is working with the National Domestic Workers Alliance and other partners to advocate for a domestic worker’s bill of rights in DC that would require employers to have a written contract with their household employees and allow domestic workers to enjoy the employment protections that other DC workers enjoy, such as protection from workplace discrimination and worker health and safety protections.

D.C.’s paid family medical leave benefits program became available in July 2020, allowing D.C. workers to apply for wage replacement benefits when they need to take time off from work to attend to their own serious health issues; care for family members; or bond with a new child in their households. First Shift provided input and comments to the D.C. Department of Employment Services regarding the implementation of the program and continues to communicate with the Labor Committee of the D.C. Council and the Department of Employment Services about their clients’ experiences with the program and barriers to accessing the benefits.

Many of the laws that First Shift assists clients to assert in their workplaces, including the D.C. Human Rights Act, are enforced by the D.C. Office of Human Rights. First Shift works with community partners to identify policy improvements for stronger enforcement of the D.C. Human Rights Act, as well as make recommendations which would help the D.C. Office of Human Rights more effectively and efficiently adjudicate complaints filed by D.C. workers.