§ 32-203 Advocate; powers and duties.
AC § 32-203
a. The advocate and division staff shall engage with the paid care industry to address workforce concerns, including by: 1. Developing a system to assist paid care workers to obtain information about their rights under federal, state and local labor and employment laws and about the appropriate federal, state and city agencies and officials, community organizations and legal services organizations that provide assistance with respect to potential violations of labor and employment laws; 2. Developing a system to assist paid care workers to submit complaints regarding potential violations of such laws through a hotline, a texting number and an online submission mechanism and responding to such complaints by providing referrals to other agencies as appropriate; 3. Seeking to coordinate with and, where appropriate, contracting with appropriate stakeholders as listed in subdivision b of section 32-202 to operate such systems or elements thereof; 4. Tracking the status and outcome of submissions to the systems created by paragraphs 1 and 2 of this subdivision; and 5. Coordinating with 311 to ensure that questions regarding paid care industry issues are referred to the division. b. With respect to individual employers against whom the division receives complaints, the advocate shall seek to identify and notify appropriate agencies about potential systemic violations of labor and employment laws, including those involving: 1. The practices of paid care services agencies that may constitute violations of applicable federal, state and local laws; 2. The operation of any unlicensed paid care services agencies in the city; 3. The exploitation and abuse of paid care workers, including retaliation, harassment, discrimination and trafficking; and 4. The compliance of the city and its contracted home care providers with relevant laws. (L.L. 2016/098, 8/31/2016, eff. 2/27/2017)
