Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio proposed a change to the Earned Income Tax Credit today that would allow unpaid caregivers to benefit from this program designed to increase Americans’ economic security.

Evan Preston, U.S. PIRG’s Senior Director of New Economy Campaigns issued the following statement:

“Technological progress means that many jobs that provide the income to support a family are vulnerable to disruption. Moving forward, we need to redefine work and the role it plays in our society. With that in mind, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio has devised a creative way to ensure that Americans can maintain their quality of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as the nature of work changes.”

“Many people work to earn money mainly to pay someone else to take care of their children or parents. That makes no sense. Why not support families who want to provide care themselves? Investing in hard-working people who provide care for their loved ones is the right thing to do.”

“U.S. PIRG praises Sen. Brown for working with Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey and with Rep. Ro Khanna of California to accurately value contributions that are essential for improving American lives, but fall outside the traditional definition of “jobs.”

“Expanding the EITC to include unpaid caregivers acknowledges the new challenges and opportunities we face as the nature of work changes. More people should thrive as improved technology brings greater prosperity. Redefining caregiving as work brings us closer to an economy that prioritizes improving well-being, so that more people can live the American Dream.”

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has a long, successful, bipartisan track record of making sure more Americans meet their needs. As the nature of work is changing, this EITC Awareness Day offers the chance to prepare for a future where we prioritize work that improves the wellbeing of Americans. U.S. PIRG urges lawmakers to expand the EITC to unpaid caregivers so we can start valuing contributions that are essential for improving American lives but fall outside of traditional jobs.

The EITC was designed to encourage people to work, to find a job and thereby contribute to society. However, a lot of jobs today can be disrupted by technology. In all kinds of industries, we can make more than ever with fewer people than ever. That ought to be an opportunity to recognize other contributions to society, but it won’t be unless we return the values behind creating the EITC in the first place.

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In its current form, the EITC fails to recognize the contributions of 40 million unpaid caregivers in the U.S. When we define productivity by value captured by Gross Domestic Product, we overlook the important roles unpaid individuals play in their communities and families every day.

Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) introduced federal legislation that would extend EITC qualifications to caregivers and students. “The overlooked and often thankless work of caregiving is essential to our society,” Watson Coleman said in a statement.

U.S. citizens such as Choudhary can simply leave a job with unsavory working conditions. But for H-1B workers, the vast majority of whom are from India, walking away means being sent back to their home countries.

Visa program rules require that the working conditions offered to H-1B applicants match those offered to U.S. workers.

That requirement was based on the idea that H-1B workers’ conditions would be improved to match U.S. labor standards, Sarasota, Fla., attorney Sara Blackwell told Bloomberg Law. Instead, it appears that employers are downgrading those standards across the board, she said.

At TCS, “there is no such thing as overtime,” another TCS employee said in an email to Bloomberg Law. Instead, there is only “ANYTIME, meaning have to work anytime day/night/weekends.”

Another former H-1B worker at TCS said he put in “almost 12 hours a day for most of the time.” Only eight or nine hours were actually worked in the office—but employees were expected to log into the online system once they went home, and again on the weekends, he told Bloomberg Law.

Workers earned $60,000 to $65,000 per year, based on a 40-hour workweek, he said. But “the concept of overtime didn’t exist,” and no extra pay was allocated for working up to twice that amount of time, he said.

The same worker said employees were provided paid sick and vacation leave on paper, but were never actually allowed to take it. Anyone who called out sick was still expected to log in and work from home, he said.

Choudhary says these conditions not only exploit H-1B workers but create an industry that drives out everyone else. “A normal American would never be able to work for them,” he said.