(CREDIT: Kourtney Liepelt as writer from Home Health Care News for this story)
Legislation aimed at restoring overtime exemptions for home care workers has been introduced in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, just days before the Department of Labor is slated to actively enforce a rule extending federal minimum wage and overtime protections to such employees.
Given the bill’s chances of survival, though, one trade organization has now vowed to take its previously filed lawsuit against the rules to the Supreme Court.
The measure, dubbed the
“Ensuring Access to Affordable and Quality Home Care for Seniors and People
with Disabilities Act,” seeks to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to return
home care workers to a category that exempts them from receiving overtime. It
is sponsored by Sen. Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, and Rep. Tim Walberg, a
Republican from Michigan.
Earlier this year, a federal
court ruled that nearly 2 million home care workers are in fact
eligible for minimum wage and overtime after the DOL in 2013 stated home care
agencies could no longer claim that the workers were excluded from FLSA
provisions instated in the 1970s. The DOL’s move was
originally challenged by a handful of trade organizations, including
the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), arguing that
access to care could be compromised if costs go up.
Now, NAHC was quick to
express support for the new legislation, which was introduced Nov. 7.
“While home care workers
deserve fair and reasonable wages for their crucial services in keeping seniors
and persons with disabilities safely at home with high quality care, the
regulatory changes do not further that goal appropriately,” NAHC President Val
Halamandaris wrote in a letter to lawmakers. “[The] bill would provide the
opportunity for all those involved in home care to design and implement
effective changes that protect workers and our most vulnerable citizens at the
same time.”
Provisions
officially took
effect Oct. 13, but the DOL indicated it wouldn’t
start enforcing them for 30 days, or Nov. 12. Still, the effective
date prompted mixed
reactions, as some providers voiced concerns about their business
models while others maintained a more positive outlook, claiming that higher
home care rates are indeed sustainable.
States have made moves
to adhere to the federal rules. Kansas, in particular, recently
submitted a request for $6.5 million in funding to cover associated
costs after previously
claiming its Medicaid budget doesn’t account for the $12 million needed
to increase home care workers’ wages, meaning a potential reduction in services
offered — both plights topping NAHC’s list of concerns.
“The recent regulatory
changes in the definition and application of these longstanding FLSA exemptions
have only served to erect needless barriers to home care and to increase costs
to financially strapped state Medicaid programs,” Halamandaris wrote. “At the
same time, the dedicated and invaluable workers who provide this care have not
seen any improvement in their overall wages as the funds necessary to cover
overtime costs are simply not available from consumers and government health
programs such as Medicaid.”
While NAHC indicated it
views supporting the legislation as “another avenue for addressing the impact
of the DOL rules in home care,” according to a news release, the organization
plans to move forward with alternate efforts.
“The legislation has a
limited chance of success in the immediate future…Similar measures to defund
the implementations of the rules are likely to face similar results,” the
release states. “As a result, NAHC has vowed to take its lawsuit to the Supreme
Court by appealing the decision of the appellate court.”
(Compiled by Jerry Wolffe, writer-in-residence, advocate-at-large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at (586) 263-8950.)
