Fair Pay for Home Care Workers Upheld by Federal Appeals Court
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) acted within its authority when it extended minimum-wage and overtime protections to home care workers, a federal court unanimously ruled on August 21. Advocates for home care workers, such as John A. Hartford Foundation grantees PHI and the Eldercare Workforce Alliance, have long sought these basic wage protections.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) acted within its authority when it extended minimum-wage and overtime protections to home care workers, a federal court unanimously ruled on August 21. The extension of basic wage protections to home care workers will "help to provide a more solid wage floor upon which to improve the quality of jobs for home care aides and quality of care for older people and people living with disabilities," PHI President Jodi Sturgeon said in a statement.
Advocates for home care workers, including John A. Hartford Foundation grantees PHI and the Eldercare Workforce Alliance, have long sought these basic wage protections. In 2013, following a lengthy public-comment period, the DOL announced that it would extend the basic labor protections of minimum-wage entitlement and time-and-a-half overtime pay to home care workers, who had previously been excluded from those protections by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's "companionship exemption." The decision arrives as care needs for the country’s aging generation are expanding rapidly. PHI estimates that the demand for home care workers will increase 50 percent by 2022.