If workplaces were fairer, domestic workers would be protected by minimum-wage and antidiscrimination laws and by unemployment insurance. They would also have things most employees take for granted, like meal breaks. But too many nannies, caregivers and housecleaners have none of these things. A new study confirms what advocacy groups have struggled to convey: that domestic workers, a vital but invisible sector of the economy, are suffering the predictable consequences of toiling behind closed doors in an unregulated industry.

The study, by Nik Theodore, an associate professor of urban policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Linda Burnham, research director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, surveyed 2,086 workers in 14 cities. It found that 23 percent of workers made less than their state’s minimum wage, which must be at least $7.25 an hour. Live-in workers had it worse: 67 percent of them earned less than the minimum, 65 percent had no health insurance and about 82 percent had no paid sick days. About 30 percent reported health problems, and 25 percent of live-in caregivers said their jobs made it impossible to get five hours of uninterrupted sleep.

The median wage was $11 an hour for nannies, $10 an hour for caregivers and housecleaners — often too little to support a family. Wages varied widely by ethnicity and immigration status. Hispanic nannies made $8.57 an hour, compared with $11.11 for Asian nannies. Undocumented immigrant caregivers were paid considerably less than legal residents and citizens.

As the study shows, domestic work in the United States lies at the crossroad of the immigrant rights and women’s rights struggles — participants were nearly all women, from 71 countries. Their experiences argue for strong policy reforms, starting with including domestic labor in the list of occupations that enjoy core federal and state workplace protections. These women deserve fair treatment. Achieving basic rights shouldn’t have to depend, haphazardly, on the kindness of their employers.