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Why It Matters That Home Care Workers Just Got New Labor Rights (updated 2x)
Last edited Wed Sep 18, 2013, 01:34 PM - Edit history (2)
Why It Matters That Home Care Workers Just Got New Labor Rights
By Bryce Covert
On Tuesday, the Department of Labor announced a rule change to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that will finally expand protections to cover home care workers. President Obama had pledged in 2011 to undo a labor law loophole known as the “companionship exemption” to grant these workers the same labor protections enjoyed by other workers, and now they will be guaranteed minimum wage and overtime pay.
Here’s what you need to know about why this rule change is so important for the workforce:
Home care workers have been denied the same rights as other workers. The FLSA was expanded to cover domestic workers in 1974, who had been left out of the original bill. But a carve out was added for those who provide “care and fellowship” to the elderly and disabled in their homes. That loophole has been so broadly interpreted that home care workers, who feed, clothe, and bathe their clients while giving them medical care, sometimes around the clock, have been left out of these basic labor rights. When home care worker Evelyn Coke sued her employer for denying her overtime pay, the Supreme Court ruled that her employer’s actions were completely legal.
Home care workers make very little and many struggle to get by. Home health and personal care aides make just $9.70 at the median, or $20,170 a year. Many make too little to get by. In New York City, for example, 60 percent make poverty wages, with almost a third earning less than $15,000 a year. Nearly 40 percent of the workforce earns so little that they have to rely on public benefits to get by. One woman who has cared for a mentally disabled woman for ten years still makes just $8.87 an hour and works 199 hours every two weeks, giving her client around-the-clock care, without getting any overtime pay.
These jobs are part of a booming industry. Home health jobs are in high demand and the need for them is going to keep rising as more and more people need in-home care in their old age. Nearly 2.5 million people are already employed as home care workers, making it one of the largest occupations. The number of jobs is expected to grow by 70 percent by 2020. But the demand for these workers will likely outpace the supply over the next decade. Giving them a higher wage and paying them for overtime work could help attract new people to the industry.
- more -
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/09/17/2634411/home-care-workers-rule-change/
By Bryce Covert
On Tuesday, the Department of Labor announced a rule change to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that will finally expand protections to cover home care workers. President Obama had pledged in 2011 to undo a labor law loophole known as the “companionship exemption” to grant these workers the same labor protections enjoyed by other workers, and now they will be guaranteed minimum wage and overtime pay.
Here’s what you need to know about why this rule change is so important for the workforce:
Home care workers have been denied the same rights as other workers. The FLSA was expanded to cover domestic workers in 1974, who had been left out of the original bill. But a carve out was added for those who provide “care and fellowship” to the elderly and disabled in their homes. That loophole has been so broadly interpreted that home care workers, who feed, clothe, and bathe their clients while giving them medical care, sometimes around the clock, have been left out of these basic labor rights. When home care worker Evelyn Coke sued her employer for denying her overtime pay, the Supreme Court ruled that her employer’s actions were completely legal.
Home care workers make very little and many struggle to get by. Home health and personal care aides make just $9.70 at the median, or $20,170 a year. Many make too little to get by. In New York City, for example, 60 percent make poverty wages, with almost a third earning less than $15,000 a year. Nearly 40 percent of the workforce earns so little that they have to rely on public benefits to get by. One woman who has cared for a mentally disabled woman for ten years still makes just $8.87 an hour and works 199 hours every two weeks, giving her client around-the-clock care, without getting any overtime pay.
These jobs are part of a booming industry. Home health jobs are in high demand and the need for them is going to keep rising as more and more people need in-home care in their old age. Nearly 2.5 million people are already employed as home care workers, making it one of the largest occupations. The number of jobs is expected to grow by 70 percent by 2020. But the demand for these workers will likely outpace the supply over the next decade. Giving them a higher wage and paying them for overtime work could help attract new people to the industry.
- more -
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/09/17/2634411/home-care-workers-rule-change/
Background: Obama Administration Aims To Fix Loophole Letting Home Health Workers Make Less Than Minimum Wage
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022403409
Updated to add:
Information on the Final Rule: Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service
http://www.dol.gov/whd/homecare/finalrule.htm
Update 2:
Home Care Workers Win Wage and Overtime Protection
Nearly 2 million home care workers—the vast majority of whom are women—take care of the elderly and people with disabilities, often working 12-hour days and 60 to 70 hours a week. Now, for the first time since 1975, most of these workers will have the wage and overtime protection of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) under a new rule issued today by the Obama administration’s Department of Labor.
Since they were exempted from the FLSA nearly four decades ago, home care workers seldom have been paid overtime and their net income is often less than the minimum wage, considering time spent in travel between the homes where they work in a single day and its cost. Unlike workers covered by federal labor laws, they have not been paid for all the hours they are on the clock.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the new rule:
Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez says many American families rely on the vital services provided by direct care workers.
With baby boomers aging and the demand for care rising, home care is now one of the fastest-growing occupations in the United States. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) reports that the industry is highly profitable and that for-profit home care chains, which drove much of the opposition to the reforms, rake in 30% to 40% profits in a $70 billion industry, even as average hourly wages are low enough to qualify home care workers for public assistance in 34 states.
- more -
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/Home-Care-Workers-Win-Wage-and-Overtime-Protection
Nearly 2 million home care workers—the vast majority of whom are women—take care of the elderly and people with disabilities, often working 12-hour days and 60 to 70 hours a week. Now, for the first time since 1975, most of these workers will have the wage and overtime protection of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) under a new rule issued today by the Obama administration’s Department of Labor.
Since they were exempted from the FLSA nearly four decades ago, home care workers seldom have been paid overtime and their net income is often less than the minimum wage, considering time spent in travel between the homes where they work in a single day and its cost. Unlike workers covered by federal labor laws, they have not been paid for all the hours they are on the clock.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the new rule:
finally recognizes the value of the work done by hundreds of thousands of people who take care of our aging parents, as well as our sisters, brothers and children with disabilities….Today’s action will not only benefit the largely female, minority and low-wage workers who provide these essential services, it will help to ensure an adequate supply of home care workers as demand grows, reduce turnover and improve quality, permitting more Americans who wish to stay in their own homes as they grow old or experience disability to do so.
Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez says many American families rely on the vital services provided by direct care workers.
Because of their hard work, countless Americans are able to live independently, go to work and participate more fully in their communities. Today we are taking an important step toward guaranteeing that these professionals receive the wage protections they deserve while protecting the right of individuals to live at home.
With baby boomers aging and the demand for care rising, home care is now one of the fastest-growing occupations in the United States. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) reports that the industry is highly profitable and that for-profit home care chains, which drove much of the opposition to the reforms, rake in 30% to 40% profits in a $70 billion industry, even as average hourly wages are low enough to qualify home care workers for public assistance in 34 states.
- more -
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/Home-Care-Workers-Win-Wage-and-Overtime-Protection
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the new rule:
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