I’ve had several reasons to mock California in the past couple of years (see here, here, here, and here).
But I never thought state politicians would be crazy enough to impose harsh regulations on babysitting.
Filling out a time card for your babysitter sounds absurd, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg in a new law moving through the California state legislature. Here’s how a critic described some of the key provisions in a column for a local newspaper.
How will parents react when they find out they will be expected to provide workers’ compensation benefits, rest and meal breaks and paid vacation time for…babysitters? Dinner and a movie night may soon become much more complicated. Assembly Bill 889 (authored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, will require these protections for all “domestic employees,” including nannies, housekeepers and caregivers. The bill has already passed the Assembly and is quickly moving through the Senate with blanket support from the Democrat members that control both houses of the Legislature.
Parents might even need to hire two babysitters if they intend to be out of the house for more than a couple of hours, though I actually hope the author is wrong in this description of the legislation (surely they’re not this crazy!).
…household “employers” (aka “parents”) who hire a babysitter on a Friday night will be legally obligated to…provide a substitute caregiver every two hours to cover rest and meal breaks, in addition to workers’ compensation coverage, overtime pay, and a meticulously calculated timecard/paycheck. Failure to abide by any of these provisions may result in a legal cause of action against the employer including cumulative penalties, attorneys’ fees, legal costs and expenses associated with hiring expert witnesses.
I have no problem, however, believing that California politicians are creating a system designed to facilitate costly and absurd lawsuits. I’m sure the trial lawyers are getting a good return on their campaign contributions.
The only good news is that we can safely assume that there will be rampant non-compliance from parents and baby sitters. The bad news is that this legislation almost surely will have a deleterious impact on more permanent forms of care-giving, such as nannies and housekeepers. That will be especially unfortunate for lower-income people who tend to benefit from these types of jobs.
..the unreasonable costs and risks contained in this bill will discourage folks from hiring housekeepers, nannies and babysitters and increase the use of institutionalized care rather than allowing children, the sick or elderly to be cared for in their homes.
When the Golden State falls apart and goes bankrupt, this legislation (assuming it is approved) will be a good example of the failure of left-wing statism.
P.S. Since we are picking on California, here are a couple of posts that use humor to make fun of the folks on the left coast (here and here).
[…] wrote back in 2011 about a bizarre plan in California to regulate […]
[…] wrote back in 2011 about a bizarre plan in California to regulate […]
[…] is a state, after all, where politicians come up with bizarre ideas such as regulating babysitting and banning Happy […]
[…] is a state, after all, where politicians come up with bizarre ideas such as regulating babysitting and banning Happy […]
[…] the way, that’s not an argument for regulating babysitting (the kind of nonsense you might find in California). Instead, it’s a reason why state governments shouldn’t be going […]
[…] can decide to do crazy things (such as regulate babysitters and give bureaucrats too much pay) and Texas can choose to do sane things (such as no income tax), […]
[…] I certainly try to do my small part, sharing example of jaw-dropping vapidity by our overseers in government (especially in New York City and California). […]
[…] California is suffocating from a knee-jerk impulse for more red tape, regulation, and intervention in almost every area of life, from higher education to babysitting. […]
[…] California is suffocating from a knee-jerk impulse for more red tape, regulation, and intervention in almost every area of life, from higher education to babysitting. […]
[…] California is suffocating from a knee-jerk impulse for more red tape, regulation, and intervention in almost every area of life, from higher education to babysitting. […]
[…] the only entity to pursue idiotic regulations. California lawmakers, for instance, have considered rules to regulate babysitting. And since we’re on the topic of coffee, let’s not forget the Seattle campaign to ban […]
[…] Political Review California Legislation Could Provide Benefits For Babysitters « CBS .. Crazy California Politicians Want to Regulate Babysitting « Internati.. California AB 889 Could Be End of Private Babysitting Services – Religious .. Proposed Babysitting […]
[…] night and so you just hire the sixteen year old down the block to look after the kids, guess what, in California you and the sixteen year old babysitter will soon be criminals. Yes, that’s right yo… Well if you thought teenagers were having a hard time before this in finding a job, apparently in […]
And people who live outside of CA wonder why I have no desire to return to live in CA, the state of my birth and childhood.
Oh well, one flew over “The Cuckoo State”…
[…] Read Rest of Article […]
Babysitters under 18 are exempted from some parts of the new law. I’m not sure if they’re included in all areas since it would require familiarity with the existing statutes in addition to the new bill, something I don’t have the time for.
I also note the government exempts itself from most (perhaps all) of the provisions.
And vacation time was amended out of the most recent bill according to the California legislature’s web site.
This seems ‘small peanuts’ but in fact this is really frightening. Here in Latin America the brazilian president Dilma Roussef will engage in a TAX CUT program! But there in the USA states like California go on increasing oppression and impeding people to work.
As Western Europe you Americans have MONUMENTAL amounts of capital, accumulated in the past, that allows you a much higher standard of living than Latin America . But that advantage will not be eternal, already the small government ‘investment accounts Social Security’ Singapore, dirt poor in the 1960s, has surpassed you. Latin America can surpass you in several decades if many in the USA insist on following the California european style oppressive example.
Over at Coyote Blog, Warren Meyer has an interesting idea about this, make every citizen go through every hoop business has to! The idea being enough people may finally realize the folly of over regulation.
http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2011/08/this-is-an-awesome-idea-i-want-to-propose-california-do-much-more-of-this.html
Stupidity like this can only be taught in California government regulated schools, which because of the teachers union, is one of the worst school system’s in the U.S. and that’s the best that can be said for this man who lacks a brain and lets his lazy ass do his thinking and if people are dumb enough not to recall him, then they desreve it.
New episode of “The Brady Bunch”: Alice goes on strike because Mr. and Mrs. Brady fail to provide her with a break every two hours and refuse to submit her state-regulated time card to the appropriate labor authorities.