GENEVA (13 August 2026) – UN experts* today reiterated
concerns about a government-subsidised 24-hour workday
system affecting home care workers in New York
City.
Their statement comes amid ongoing legislative
discussions aimed at addressing 24-hour work schedules and
follows a recent hunger strike by home care
workers.
According to information received, many home
care workers, most of whom are migrant women, are required
to work 24-hour shifts while providing care and support to
older persons and persons with disabilities. This system is
allegedly subsidised and administered with government
involvement.
“We are seriously concerned that the
reported system may enable exploitative practices and that
it has a disproportionate impact on migrant women and their
families,” the experts said.
The concentration of
migrant women in homecare reflects the persistent
undervaluation of care work and gendered inequalities in
labour markets, which may expose women to heightened risks
of exploitation and abuse. The experts noted that the
situation may exhibit several indicators of forced labour
identified by the International Labour Organization, raising
serious and urgent concerns for affected
workers.
“Home care workers must be able to enjoy
just, favourable and safe working conditions, adequate rest,
fair remuneration, protection of their rights, and access to
effective remedies,” the experts said. Prolonged working
hours without adequate rest may have serious consequences
for workers’ physical and mental health, occupational safety
and family life, while also affecting the quality and
continuity of care provided to older persons and persons
with disabilities.
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They raised concerns about the
Government’s alleged failure to enforce existing laws on
adequate pay and working conditions, the reported lack of
effective remedies and compensation for affected workers,
and the undervaluation of care and support work.
“We
requested information from the Government on steps taken to
improve working conditions, ensure access to effective
remedies, and reform or eliminate the 24-hour workday system
in line with international human rights standards. However,
to date, we have not received a response,” the experts
said.
“As discussions continue in New York City on
measures to address 24-hour work schedules, we encourage all
relevant stakeholders to give careful consideration to these
concerns and to ensure respect for the rights, dignity and
well-being of home care workers and their
families.”
The experts have been in contact
(https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=30838)
with the Government of the United States regarding these
issues.
*The
experts:
- Claudia Flores (Chair),
Ivana Krstić (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada-Tanck, Haina Lu,
and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working Group on
discrimination against women and girls
(https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/wg-women-and-girls) - Gehad
Madi, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of
migrants
(https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-migrants) - Elena
Carolina Díaz Galán, Special Rapporteur on extreme
poverty and human rights
(https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-poverty) - Katarina
Schwarz, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of
slavery and trafficking in persons
(https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-slavery-trafficking)
Special
Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are
independent human rights experts appointed by the United
Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are
referred to as the Special Procedures
(https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures-human-rights-council)
of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work
on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not
receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights
office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the
experts serve in their individual capacity and are
independent fromany government or organization, including
OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the author and do not necessarily represent those
of the UN or OHCHR.
Country-specific
observations and recommendations by the UN human rights
mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty
bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on
the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/
UN
Human Rights, country page –
https://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/united-states-america
