Jen Kiggans Was One Of Only Four Republican State Senators To Vote Against Eliminating Domestic Workers’ Exclusion In Virginia’s Minimum Wage Act

Kiggans Voted Against Setting A Fair Minimum Wage For Domestic Workers And Providing Remedies For Work Related Injuries, Workplace Harassment, And Discrimination. In February of 2020, Kiggans Voted Against S.B. 804, which eliminated “the exclusion in the Virginia Minimum Wage Act for persons employed in domestic service. The bill requires the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to convene a work group consisting of representatives from the Department of Labor and Industry, the Virginia Employment Commission, the Workers' Compensation Commission, organizations representing domestic workers, and such other stakeholders as the Secretary of Commerce and Trade deems appropriate to make recommendations, including any necessary statutory and regulatory changes, with regard to protecting domestic service employees from workplace harassment and discrimination, providing remedies for such employees for the nonpayment of wages, ensuring the safety and health of such employees in the workplace, and protecting such employees from loss of income as a result of unemployment or employment-related injury by including coverage of such employees in the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.” The bill passed the state Senate 34-4 and became law in April of 2020. [Virginia General Assembly, SB804, 2/28/20]